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 Post subject: Broadmoor cog train
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2005 6:03 pm 

Joined: Sun Aug 22, 2004 9:35 am
Posts: 8139
Location: Wilton, NY
From the Cripple Creek Railroads list:First the train.Wednesday, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo celebrated the return of the Mountaineer, mounted at the entrance of the zoo. The only trip it will take is down memory lane, but that will be plenty for folks who remember it. Broadmoor founder Spencer Penrose built the train in 1937 to carry resort guests the two miles up Cheyenne Mountain to his zoo.Originally, it was a miniature version of the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway with a steam locomotive pushing passenger cars.On May 30, 1950, the Mountaineer — powered by a diesel V-8 engine — debuted with a streamlined aluminum-and-glass locomotive pushing two sleek 20-passenger coaches from the resort through four tunnels to the zoo.The Mountaineer ran until 1974, when it was dismantled to make way for the Broadmoor West complex.It would likely still be rusting away in a Gilpin County dump above Central City without the detective work of Don Bymaster, who spent several years before his death in March 2002 tracking down the little train.He had it hauled back to Colorado Springs in 1998 and convinced the Broadmoor Rotary Club and six other clubs to finance restoration, as readers of Side Streets may recall from a December 2003 report.The locomotive is the only part of the train on display at the mouth of a 150-foot tunnel just inside the main parking lot of the zoo. Work on the two coaches is ongoing.Note: The original Broadmoor cog train was not a real steam engine, but a gas-powered facsimile of the Manitou & Pikes Peak engines. In the early 1950s, there was one of the "steam" engines (I think there were two originally) that still pushed a car up to the second level of the zoo, after one arrived at the first level via the streamliner. This was later replaced by a rubber-tired tram. Anyone know what happened to it?


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 Post subject: Re: Broadmoor cog train
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 9:35 pm 

Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2004 6:51 pm
Posts: 148
Is there a weekly prize for oldest resurrected thread?

The current issue of The Short Line #235, has a photo of an alleged 1950 Cadillac-built 3' gauge cog railroad locomotive now on display at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Photo and text has been lifted without attribution from the The Diesel Shop website. Cadillac badging is clearly visible. The zoo website only says it was powered with a Cadillac V-8, which I am presuming was gasoline, not Diesel. Has any motorhead looked at this thing closely enough to find a builder's plate?

Alex Huff, who once found the Special Order tag number on the Dodge chassis over which the Milwaukee Road shops built a street parade model of their Class A 4-4-2


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 Post subject: Re: Broadmoor cog train
PostPosted: Sun Apr 17, 2016 10:32 pm 

Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 4:11 pm
Posts: 287
Alex Huff wrote:
Is there a weekly prize for oldest resurrected thread?


Not sure too new to the forum but thanks for dredging this one up. In 1973 at the grand old age of 5, my family took a RR enthusiasts tour of Colorado. Colorado Zephyr, Denver-Laramie behind 8444 (844), D&RGW Durango to Silverton, C&TSRR, the short lived operation at Central City, Colorado RR Museum, Forney Transportation Museum, Manitou and Pikes Peak, and the Broadmoor and its Zoo Cog RR. My dad has 8mm of us riding up and down the lil cog RR at the resort. I have pretty vivid memories of the trip despite being so young. Thanks again

I doubt this link will last as long as the original thread, and here are some pics of the train both versions. https://csco.wordpress.com/2015/12/13/the-mountaineer/


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