megan1260

We are planning to be in the Vail area this June and wanted to take a train ride. Durango is too far to travel so I was looking at these other options..Has anyone had any experience with the above train rides ? Any comments or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.. thanks

dwooddon

I can only tell you about the Georgetown Loop. It has an advantage of being pretty close to you while you're in Vail (50 miles). A few miles after you come out of the Eisenhower Tunnel going toward Denver, take the Silver Plume exit and the station is just along the highway on the south side, just east of the exit.

The train is an old mining railroad that is fairly short - 4 to 5 miles if I remember correctly. It passes through mountain woodlands coming out of Silver Plume then along the edge of the Valley as it nears Georgetown. The loop part of its name comes from the long trestle that doubles back on itself in order to lose altitude without a descent too steep for the train.

Check schedules. It's a pretty neat trip to take the train down from Silver Plume, walk around Georgetown for an hour or longer, then take the train back to your car in Silver Plume.

The Georgetown Loop is a very nice little excursion railroad but does not come close to the experience of the Durango train.

I've never been on the train ride through the Royal Gorge but from the photos I've seen, it is a more modern railroad. All the photos I've seen show it being pulled by F7 or F8 Streamliners and consists of 1950's style rail cars. If you've seen any of the old Santa Fe Chief commercials, the engines and cars are of the same nature.

Enjoy Colorado.