Ski Train
The Ski Train
departs from Union Station, at 17th
and
Wynkoop in Denver, at 7:15 a.m. Ticketed passengers begin
boarding at 6:30 a.m. Tickets for the trip are
nonrefundable and nonexchangeable. From December to March,
the train has trips every Saturday and Sunday. Part of the
season, Thursdays and Fridays are added to the trip
schedule. The Ski Train has limited Saturday runs during
the summer months. The Ski Train has several concession
cars. Breakfast items and snacks are available for a fee in
the morning. Hot dogs, fruit, snacks, and beer and wine are
offered in the afternoon. Each train car has bathroom
facilities. The Ski Train has seventeen cars including
eight coach rail cars. Lift tickets for Winter Park can be
purchased on the train. The Ski Train began round trip
operations between Denver and the Winter Park Ski Resort in
the 1940’s. The first operators of the train were the
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. Most of the
passengers for the first years were children’s ski clubs.
Ansco Investment Company purchased the train in 1988 and
began updating the Ski Train with modern railcars. The Ski
Train route begins at Union Station in downtown Denver. It
winds through the Denver train yard before heading through
the countryside and twenty-nine tunnels. The Ski Train
climbs several thousand feet in elevation. The last tunnel
the train travels through before reaching Winter Park is
the Moffat Tunnel. The Moffat Tunnel is over six miles in
length and takes the train nearly fifteen minutes to exit.
The Moffat Tunnel is the highest railroad tunnel in the
United States. The tunnel opened for train traffic in 1928.
The ski resort of Winter Park rests near the western
entrance of the tunnel. The day skiers are deposited just a
100 yards from the ski lifts. The Ski Train starts the
two-hour return trip to Denver promptly at 4:15 p.m.
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