News Archive: 2nd quarter 2005

June 22 — Many thanks to Mike McGowen, our official Colorado Correspondant, who came through with this photo of completed commuter coach TRCX 7001 headed to Pueblo.

June 17 — After a long drought, I am back with a large number of updates. First of all, a photo. The new Tri-Rail double decker DMU, TRCX 703, and the prototype DMU - now renumbered TRCX 702 - departed Colorado Railcar last week en-route to Pueblo for testing. The ever-intrepid Mike McGowen sent us this shot of the cars running under their own power from Fort Lupton to Denver on UP tracks on June 8.

Also, the Tri-Rail coach, TRCX 7001, departed for Pueblo a few days ago, separate of the DMU move. All three cars will be sent to Florida in mid-July.

There is also news from Rocky Mountaineer Vacations. Apparently, orders for the touring DMU and single level domes were never placed, and RMV has instead placed orders for three more double decker domes, which I have tentatively assigned the numbers 9522, 9524 and 9526 mainly out of speculation.

Just because the RMV order never materialized doesn't mean that there won't be any single level domes next year, though. Apparently, the Alaska Railroad has ordered two cars (see the news entry in last quarter's archive) for delivery next spring, and may exercise an option for two additional single levels in 2007, along with two more copies of the 651 and 652.

I have given the single levels cars temporary numbers of SL6 and SL7, as the ARR already has five single levels on roster (551-554 and the 2000.) Once I know the actual numbers, I will update the cars' pages.

There have been several updates throughout the site, including some minor formatting corrections (there's always some of that, isn't there?) I have also added three new photo features, one of Holland America 1058 & 1059, one providing a more detailed look at the Alaska Railroad's barge operations in Seattle, and also a comparative look at one of Amtrak's Superliner Sightseer Lounge cars.

May 9 — Holland America 1058 and 1059 are on the roll, having been picked up by UP early this morning. Expectations are that they will leave Denver for Seattle sometime tomorrow morning.

May 8 — Happy Mother's Day to all of the special moms out there. Holland America 1058 and 1059 are awaiting pickup by the UP to begin their trip to Seattle and ultimately Alaska. Follow the links to the cars' roster pages for updated photos of both cars.

April 28 — The barge carrying Alaska Railroad 651 and 652 arrived in Whittier, AK on Tuesday evening, and the cars were unloaded yesterday and shipped to Anchorage. There are some photos of the move on John Combs' Alaska Railroad fan website. (If you haven't looked at John's treasure trove before, check it out.)

April 24 — To complete the recent updates, I have added photo tours of Princess 7080-7081 and Alaska RR 651-652 to the photos page.

April 22 — I took a recent trip to Colorado, and have several photos to share. So you will find updated photos of several current projects, including: Alaska Railroad 651 and 652, Holland America 1058 and 1059, and Princess Tours 7080 and 7081.

The South Florida RTA DMU and coach have been assigned new numbers, as reflected in the DMU Roster page. The double decker DMU will be TRCX 703, while the former DMU demonstrator 2002 will become TRCX 702. The double decker coach will be TRCX 7001. Updated photos of the DMU and coach have been added as well.

Alaska Railroad 651 and 652 left Ft. Lupton on April 13, and was loaded on the barge to Alaska on the morning of the 20th.

April 12 — Princess Tours 7080 and 7081 are at King Street Station in Seattle awaiting transfer to the barge for shipping to Alaska. The cars should continue north tomorrow. Alaska Railroad 651 and 652 should be departing Ft. Lupton tomorrow.

April 2 — Princess Tours 7080 and 7081 departed Denver today via BNSF to begin their trip west. They are expected to arrive in Seattle late next week, and are going to be displayed for invited guests on Monday, April 11 at King Street Station in Seattle before leaving for Alaska.