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Coralwerks — RGZ - End Of the Train - End of an Era
Published: 2014-08-02 06:32:40 +0000 UTC; Views: 1445; Favourites: 11; Downloads: 0
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April 24, 1983 -- The passenger have disembarked, but many of them are still standing on the platform at Denver Union Station as a lowly switcher pulls the empty Rio Grande Zephyr away from the station to the nearby Burnham Shops, and an era came to a sad end.Most of the cars would be sold to Amtrak and would be gone within a week, but none of them ran in revenue service for them, and cracks in the frame of the dining car led to it being scrapped.
The Vista Dome Observation car, Silver Sky was retained by the railroad for a few more years, and was eventually sold to Via Rail. The last time I saw pictures of the car online, it was heartbreaking. Most of the windows had been broken, and the interior was trashed.
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Olympus OM-1
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Comments: 10
Yes, though even if the train had survived longer than it did, I rather doubt it would have lasted once the D&RGW and SP merger took place - and almost certainly not once UP took over (as happened to the ski train).
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You're right. SP did everything it could to kill passenger service in the 1960s (remember the infamous automat car that replaced full diners on the Sunset Limited?) and I think they would've done the same to the Zephyr had it still been around when SP took over the Rio Grande. As for the UP... don't get me started on them. I call their management Useless Pricks.
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I wish the car had gone to a museum instead of to Via Rail. At least it would have been better cared for.
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I recently traveled the Iron Horse and gained a great appreciation for railroads along the way. It's a nice collection of photos you have here.
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Nice catching up with you
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