Colorado railway supplying spectacular sights is open following several years of renovation

For 130 decades, website visitors have built the journey to the major of Pikes Peak in Colorado on a educate which is one particular-of-a-sort. Now, soon after becoming shut for much more than 3 yrs and going through a $100 million renovation, it is really as soon as all over again bringing travelers on a breathtaking journey.

Uniquely equipped for its winding trek by way of the rocky mountains, the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway is one particular of only two in the United States and handles grades as steep as 25%.

In between glimpses of the natural elegance that impressed the tune “The united states the Beautiful,” the journey can be an hour-very long vacation to the major.

Manitou and Pike Peak Railway Cog Railroad
Stunning scenery found on the Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway .

Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Pictures


The panoramic sights are amazing in each perception. Visitors from close to the world journey to see them, like the Campbell family who visited from Memphis, Missouri.

“When you arrive out West, and you come to Colorado Springs, it was just one of the places you had to see,” Lance Campbell informed CBS News’ Nancy Chen.

The railway is able to climb up additional than 14,000 feet up due to the fact of a sure 3rd wheel beneath the prepare hooks into.

“A cog railway is a railway just like any other railway, but we use a middle third rail to get all our traction and braking. A regular railway, they get all their traction and braking via the exterior rails,” Ted Johnston, assistant general supervisor of Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway, explained.

Manitou and Pike Peak Railway Cog Railroad
The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway coach heads toward the summit of Pikes Peak.

Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Put up through Getty Photographs


The cog railway was a groundbreaking process when it was constructed in 1891, as saloons dominated the nearby landscape. The nearby Broadmoor lodge owns the railway currently.

“We believe that the Broadmoor is variety of the gateway to the American West,” reported Jack Damioli, president and CEO at The Broadmoor.

As the years handed, the trains’ technology progressed with 20th-century innovation. But significantly of the railway’s infrastructure remained in location for far more than 125 yrs. In 2018, it was shut down for renovations totaling extra than $100 million.

“We seemed at every little thing when we did this challenge. The track, the trains, the depot facility that we are at right now. And we retrofitted some of our more mature products,” Johnston mentioned.

The tracks had been replaced for the to start with time because they were laid down. 3 new trains and a snowblower completely ready to tackle the hardiest of ailments were being also just lately additional.

As practice transportation has modernized, cog railways and their components have come to be number of and considerably concerning. Their rarity compelled Colorado engineers to look overseas for support in Switzerland’s Stadler Rail, whose trains traverse the alps.

Three decades later, the railroad is reopened, all yr, in any weather conditions circumstances.

“The knowledge of going to the summit of a 14,000-foot mountain by rail has not modified. Of course, the autos are new. The monitor is new. But that awe-inspiring expertise, it really is all the exact same,” Johnston said. 

Manitou and Pike Peak Railway Cog Railroad
Conductors David Bolser, remaining, and Adam Clawson, correct, verify the time on their pocket watches as they helps get passengers aboard The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway educate in May well 2021. 

Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post by means of Getty Images