Tracks Placed On Street Help Move Locomotive To Colorado Railroad Museum
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4)- More than two dozen workers teamed up to move a locomotive on Wednesday from nearby tracks into the yard of the Colorado Railroad Museum. It's the latest edition to the collection highlighting the different trains from the state.
"This is an exciting day," said Donald Tallman, executive director of the museum. "This is a historic moment for us."
Union Pacific donated the train car to the museum eight years ago as this type of locomotive was decommissioned. Staff started planning at the beginning of 2018 on how to bring it into their property. From July through this week they were constantly figuring out the logistics to make the move successful.
The car started at the Miller Coors brewery and then was pushed along regular train tracks to a nearby intersection at the museum. Four side booms then lifted it off those tracks, suspending the nearly 400,000-pound car in the air.
Single pieces of track were then placed on 44th Avenue to move the train along the street and across the bridge.
A crew of 25 were part of the team that closed off the street for hours. Their day began well before 9 a.m. moving the locomotive slowly and carefully about four blocks.
The team had to swing the train car twice to get it into the museum grounds just after 4 p.m. and then in place next to the last existing standard grade steam locomotive of the Denver Rio Grande railroad company. The newest addition to their collection is still operational and could be commissioned by a railroad operator if needed. It was built in the 1980s and went out of service with others like it.
"We're one of the largest railroad museums in the country," said Tallman. "We bring Colorado railroad history to life through exhibits like this, special events, and our educational program. This means a lot to us."
LINK: Colorado Railroad Museum
Shawn Chitnis reports weeknights for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Email him story ideas at smchitnis@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter or Facebook.
