Hello Thomas, an interesting railway line and a great story about this DRG-W railway. Very nicely filmed and a great explanation. Thanks for the video and have a nice Thanksgiving Day. Best regards, Wolfgang
Great to hear that there [could be?] life in the old line yet. Agree 100% with Co DoT re: using it as an insurance against potential catastrophic closure of the "main line".
The Tennessee pass line is also significant due to it being the only viable evacuation route to towns like Salida, where I was born, in the event of a snowstorm. Highway 50 just shuts down in these scenarios... It's impossible to plow it.
Leave it to thr environmental prognosticators to object to a proposal with naught but catastrophic predilections. There are more than the Arkansas River that are on the map between Utah and the Port of Galveston, to wit: Colorado, Arkansas, Cimarron, Canadian, Brazos, and (depending on the routing) Trinity, Colorado ( in Texas), San Jacinto....well, you get the picture. NIMBY must be shorthand for myopic. Let the trains roll,please.
@@glennfoster2423 Agreed! The environmental impact would be no more than what other railroads in the area are already causing on a yearly basis. They're worried about the POSSIBILITY of derailments, but that possibility is an inevitability EVERYWHERE. They should lobby for better railroad safety and maintenance standards instead, go right for the root of the problem.
@PowerTrain611 A train derailment is not an event that will occur with 'inevitability' -- unless specific conditions and/or act(s) to cause the event preceed the event. Bridge design includes 'over designing' the structural parts, material strengths, longevity and inspection cycles to make certain the structure doesn't fall apart. Rails are 'rolled' to specific shapes and weights per yard with a particular metallurgical recipe to perform to the best standard. The components (rails, ties, track geometry, fastenings,construction and the assembly work, etc.) are inspected on scheduled frequency by visual and non-destructive methods. Failures are actually few and far between that result in a story on the evening news.
@glennfoster2423 you're harping on semantics here. My point is that unless the railroads increase their maintenance protocols, safety protocols and I don't know, start paying their employees a fair wage, accidents are going to keep happening. That's the bottom line here. I didn't need an essay on how bridges are built
I have lived in Colorado since 1975 and have visited Tennesee Pass dozens of times. First of all your video work is outstanding especially with the drones, I also found your commentary to be informative but I think that the chances of reopening TP to be zero. Besides the huge cost of rebuilding the line from the sub ballast up there will be a huge political uproar about reopening the line. Buena Vista and Salida will not be happy about the prospect of heavy tank car trains, explosive or not, rumbling through their tourist towns. Maybe the Moffat Line may have been operating at capacity at one time but with the demise of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah coal the number of trains has sharply decreased. Two passenger trains, two UP locals and two BNSF trackage rights trains are about all that one can count on. If there is capacity problems on their respective main lines and if the train is low priority like rail or empty tank cars maybe the UP or BNSF will send a train or two over the DRGW (RIP) and maybe not. If you want a simidepressing experience camp close to the tracks for a day or two. Empty tracks in beautiful country. I think the chances of reopening Tennessee Pass is about equal to reopening the South Park Alpine tunnel RIP. In the meantime I can enjoy your video.
Hello Thomas, an interesting railway line and a great story about this DRG-W railway. Very nicely filmed and a great explanation. Thanks for the video and have a nice Thanksgiving Day. Best regards, Wolfgang
Thank you, Wolfgang.
Beautiful and interesting video. Excellent capture of the nest and sheep.
Thank you, Dom!
Great to hear that there [could be?] life in the old line yet. Agree 100% with Co DoT re: using it as an insurance against potential catastrophic closure of the "main line".
It is an important line to keep open!
Great video. Loved that it included Pronghorn Sheep and and an Osprey nest. Beautiful part of the world!
Glad you liked it. I didn't see the sheep and Osprey nest until I was editing it. It was a nice surprise!
I miss the DRGW 😞
Me too.
Szép érdekes videó lett!😀 Köszönöm szépen!🙂 Nyomtam egy nagy like!👍
Thank you, Ferenc!
The Tennessee pass line is also significant due to it being the only viable evacuation route to towns like Salida, where I was born, in the event of a snowstorm. Highway 50 just shuts down in these scenarios... It's impossible to plow it.
That's a good point!
Leave it to thr environmental prognosticators to object to a proposal with naught but catastrophic predilections. There are more than the Arkansas River that are on the map between Utah and the Port of Galveston, to wit: Colorado, Arkansas, Cimarron, Canadian, Brazos, and (depending on the routing) Trinity, Colorado ( in Texas), San Jacinto....well, you get the picture. NIMBY must be shorthand for myopic.
Let the trains roll,please.
@@glennfoster2423 Agreed! The environmental impact would be no more than what other railroads in the area are already causing on a yearly basis. They're worried about the POSSIBILITY of derailments, but that possibility is an inevitability EVERYWHERE.
They should lobby for better railroad safety and maintenance standards instead, go right for the root of the problem.
@PowerTrain611 A train derailment is not an event that will occur with 'inevitability' -- unless specific conditions and/or act(s) to cause the event preceed the event.
Bridge design includes 'over designing' the structural parts, material strengths, longevity and inspection cycles to make certain the structure doesn't fall apart. Rails are 'rolled' to specific shapes and weights per yard with a particular metallurgical recipe to perform to the best standard. The components (rails, ties, track geometry, fastenings,construction and the assembly work, etc.) are inspected on scheduled frequency by visual and non-destructive methods. Failures are actually few and far between that result in a story on the evening news.
@glennfoster2423 you're harping on semantics here. My point is that unless the railroads increase their maintenance protocols, safety protocols and I don't know, start paying their employees a fair wage, accidents are going to keep happening. That's the bottom line here. I didn't need an essay on how bridges are built
I have lived in Colorado since 1975 and have visited Tennesee Pass dozens of times. First of all your video work is outstanding especially with the drones, I also found your commentary to be informative but I think that the chances of reopening TP to be zero. Besides the huge cost of rebuilding the line from the sub ballast up there will be a huge political uproar about reopening the line. Buena Vista and Salida will not be happy about the prospect of heavy tank car trains, explosive or not, rumbling through their tourist towns. Maybe the Moffat Line may have been operating at capacity at one time but with the demise of Western Colorado and Eastern Utah coal the number of trains has sharply decreased. Two passenger trains, two UP locals and two BNSF trackage rights trains are about all that one can count on. If there is capacity problems on their respective main lines and if the train is low priority like rail or empty tank cars maybe the UP or BNSF will send a train or two over the DRGW (RIP) and maybe not. If you want a simidepressing experience camp close to the tracks for a day or two. Empty tracks in beautiful country. I think the chances of reopening Tennessee Pass is about equal to reopening the South Park Alpine tunnel RIP. In the meantime I can enjoy your video.
Thank you for the kind words! I agree that it would be difficult task, politically and economically to open it.
Line rehab will be extensive and costly.
Over $200 million, but cheaper than building a new line.