Photo by Keith Cerny The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad provides a scenic tour over La Veta Pass. The rail line is instituting several changes this season.

Food,

narration added



By RUTH HEIDE

ALAMOSA — The Rio Grande Scenic Railroad will roll into a new season next month with a few changes in store.

San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad General Manager Mathew Abbey said each of the railroad’s four passenger train routes will experience upgrades and enhancements, with the Monte Vista and La Veta routes also experiencing scheduling changes when the regular season begins on Memorial Day weekend.

Guests on the trains this year will have the opportunity to enjoy food service and narration about the train and the communities they visit. Some of the rail cars will feature live narration while others will share local stories by way of an automated GPS system.

One of the most notable changes this season revolves around the La Veta-Alamosa route. Rather than traveling all the way to Alamosa, the train from La Veta will turn around at Fort Garland where passengers may visit the Fort Garland Museum, the White Mountain Trading Post and local restaurants.

Railroad staff met with some of the Fort Garland leaders and business owners to begin mapping out this new venue. For example, they met with Fort Garland Museum Director Rick Manzanares.

“What we discovered was Fort Garland has an amazing story to tell,” Abbey said.

Train tickets will include admission to the Fort Garland Museum, Abbey explained. In return, museum staff will either train railroad employees as docents or meet the train with docents to provide a docent-narrated experience.

Abbey explained why the La Veta-originated route would not extend into Alamosa. He said the trip was so long from La Veta to Alamosa that by the time passengers got to Alamosa they had no time in the city before going back.

“We found guests coming into Alamosa from La Veta expected time to experience Alamosa and the length of the trip and terrain and scheduling meant we weren’t able to deliver consistently on that expectation,” he said. “Some days we only had 45 minutes to turn that train around.

“That’s not good for the railroad. That’s not good for the town either.”

In addition, the number of people who rode the entire length of the La Veta-Alamosa line was not a large number, barely enough to cover operating costs, Abbey explained.

He further explained that one of the main purposes of the La Veta Pass route is to transport people to Fir, the site of concerts, “Rails and Ales” and other events throughout the year.

Abbey said the downside of the La Veta train stopping in Fort Garland is the loss to Alamosa of that limited number of passengers who rode the entire distance. However, he said those passengers had not been able to spend much time in Alamosa anyway.

Alamosa will still enjoy the benefit of passengers boarding the train in Alamosa, Abbey added. Before boarding the morning train, those passengers will likely have spent the night in town, eaten at local restaurants and shopped at downtown businesses, he said.

The Alamosa-originated rail experience will involve steam trains Friday through Sunday and diesel on weekdays, with some exceptions. Trains leave Alamosa at 9 a.m., get to La Veta in time for lunch, and return to Alamosa at 5:45 p.m., in time for dinner.

The railroad will provide limited food service, bistro style, on those trains from Alamosa to La Veta so passengers may obtain breakfast items, wraps, hamburgers and similar items.

Abbey said the railroad’s chief cook is a recent graduate of Le Cordon Bleu in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The railroad also welcomes Ryan Weeks as the new passenger services director. He fills a vacancy left by Nacho Martinez who decided to pursue other interests. Weeks has marketing, public relations and tourism experience. He will be moving here with his family from Idaho.

The train to Monte Vista will experience coach upgrades, scheduling changes and the addition of the onboard GPS automated narration system. Abbey said coach cars will replace the former rail cars on the route to Monte Vista.

Also, the train to Monte Vista will leave at 10 a.m., according to its new schedule, provide nearly two hours in Monte Vista for passengers to experience Monte Vista, and return at 2:30 p.m. to Alamosa. The train will run seven days a week beginning Memorial Day weekend.

The Alamosa-Antonito route also runs seven days a week and departs Alamosa at 8:15 a.m., with a continental self-service breakfast available. The Antonito route will feature dome cars this year, equipped with the automated GPS narration system. The narrative will provide history about the communities through which the train passes as well as information about narrow gauge and standard gauge rails.

Abbey said the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad complements the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad that departs from Antonito.

“We are not competing but feeding that line,” he said. “We work very hard to promote the Cumbres & Toltec.”

Abbey said railroad president Ed Ellis shared a goal of 100,000 riders a year on the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, and the railroad staff members are working hard to meet that goal. Last year the ridership was 21,000. Abbey said if 100,000 people rode the train every season, the local hotels would be sold out and local restaurants packed.

In addition to the regular season, the railroad offers special trains throughout the rest of the year, such as the Easter Bunny Train this weekend. The railroad also draws in special groups. This year, for example, the American Association of Private Rail Car Owners will hold its convention in Alamosa this September, and the Tourist Railway Association plans a weeklong convention here in November.

Abbey, who recently moved here from Alaska, is excited about the potential of the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.

“People don’t realize this excursion gem we have,” he said.

He said trains can simply provide train rides, dinner trains or tour trains, and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad offers it all.

“No other line has the ride, the scenery, the facilities, the equipment to deliver the complete package.

“This is the best tour train in Colorado.”