The Ski Train was a seasonal passenger railroad operated by Rio Grande Scenic Railroad in the period 1940-2009. Starting in 1988, the train was operated by the Ansco Investment Company, which had in turn purchased the Ski Train franchise from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in that year.
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The train was instituted by the railroad in 1940 and ran from Union Station in Denver, Colorado for 56 miles (90 km) to the ski resort town of Winter Park, Colorado. The train's scenic route left Union Station and traveled through northwest suburban Denver, generally parallel to South Boulder Creek, past Pinecliffe and Rollinsville.
The route climbed about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) and passed through 29 tunnels before reaching the final mountain underpass, the 6.2-mile (10.0 km) long Moffat Tunnel. This is the highest railroad tunnel in the United States and passes under the Continental Divide.
The train stopped less than 100 yards (91 m) from the base of the ski lifts of Winter Park Resort. There was one trip in each direction per day, with a travel time of 2 hours and 15 minutes, assuming no delays from freight rail traffic.
The Ski Train carried skiers to Winter Park Resort from December through March each ski season between 1940 and 2008-2009.
The Ski Train made its final run to Winter Park on March 29, 2009. The Ski Train equipment was sold to Algoma Central Railway Inc., a subsidiary of Canadian National Railway.
The Ski Train operated at a consistent loss for over 21 years. More recently it had faced additional serious challenges. These included escalating costs such as liability insurance coverage, operational conflicts with freight traffic, and substantial uncertainties posed by redevelopment of Denver's Union Station. These reasons combined with the worldwide economic maladies in 2009 meant that the Ski Train could no longer be operated.
Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC, which owns several short line railroads including San Luis & Rio Grande in southern Colorado, made a bid to revive the Ski Train using an improved business model that utilized idle equipment from SL&RG's subsidiary, Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.[1][2] Unfortunately, the Ski Train never left the station in what was hoped to be its 70th season. One reason the plans fell through is that Amtrak, who would be supplying staff for the train, considered the Ski Train to be a commuter operation and not an excursion train. This would mean a liability insurance double that of a excursion operation would be placed on the operators.[3] Many people are skeptical at Amtrak's timing to settle this matter at court on December 23, 2009 when the first run of the season was scheduled to leave on 27 December 2009. Full refunds were made by Iowa Pacific.
The former Ski Train F40PH locomotives and passenger cars are now in use on the Algoma Central Railway's Agawa Canyon tourist train and the equipment has been refurbished and repainted to Algoma Central livery.[4]