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Passenger Trains of Denver The Decade Before Amtrak 1960-1970 by John Mummert SC
Passenger Trains of Denver - The Decade Before Amtrak: 1960-1970 by John D Mummert
Soft Cover
64 pages
Copyright 2009 Reflections from the lights on some photos.
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments 5
Introduction 7
ONE Denver Union Station8
TWO Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe12
THREE Chicago, Burlington & Quincy16
FOUR Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific32
FIVE Denver & Rio Grande Western36
SIX Missouri Pacific44
SEVEN Union Pacific46
EIGHT Discontinuing the Texas Zephyr 60
Timeline for Denver Union Station 63
Bibliography 64
INTRODUCTION
Can you remember when you were first interested in trains? Perhaps you, like me, were drawn to trains in a moment of conversion akin to a religious one. One great event may be crucial in our memories. The Bible tells of Saul's conversion on the Damascus Road, knocked down by a blinding light and being blind for three days. Protestant Reformer Martin Luther had a dramatic conversion when he was nearly killed by lighting on a stormy night in a deep forest, giving his life to God and asking for protection. Methodist pioneer John Wesley had his heart "strangely warmed" while praying in a chapel on Aldersgate Street in London. For these three, a new lifelong focus began in a definite experience.
On a chilly Thursday evening in October of 1956, my dated conversion to my lifelong fascination with passenger trains happened. While there were neither lights nor voices, the conversion was real, lasting for over 50 years. My parents took my family from our home in Fort Collins, Colo., to Denver to see the Burlington Route's newly equipped Denver Zephyr. The general public was shown the train for one evening before it entered revenue service a few days later. We were able to tour the train, which left an indelible mark on me. When we got to one of the lounge cars, a photographer from the Denver Post was present. He took my picture, which would perhaps show up in the Post the next day. The following morning, my parents rushed out to buy a copy of the paper. Alas, no picture of me. Rather, there was one of railroad officials with the new Zephyr. But a thoughtful editor sent my family a copy of the photograph. I still have it, and it shows me at the moment of my conversion, becoming enthralled by passenger trains.
In my formative years of the 1960s, I eagerly looked forward to going to Denver Union Station and the surrounding areas to see and photograph passenger trains. Being in high school and college then, I used a Kodak Signet 35 that was a Christmas present from my parents in the late 1950s. I wrote down all of my train information in a Bible acquired in the third grade, knowing that I would always keep this first Bible of mine.
Herein is a historical synopsis of the passenger trains that ran into Colorado's jewel city of Denver and its Union Station throughout the decade of the 1960s, and until the advent of Amtrak on May 1, 1971. Included are those Union Pacific passenger trains that operated across Wyoming and that served Colorado with connecting sections to Denver. Special attention is given to the discontinuance of one of the well-known trains that served Denver, the Texas Zephyr.
It was a very melancholic time, at times, for those of us so enthused. Some of you may find a portion of the text tedious in its detailing of consists, and the author understands if you prefer to "skip over" the same. But for those who desire more detailed information on some of the most beautiful and varied passenger train equipment that ever operated in America, such is included for your enlightenment. May you experience some of the same excitement that I felt as an eight-year-old aboard the Denver Zephyr.
John D. Mummert Bluffton, Ohio
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