On Saturday, August 29, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Ben, Jerod, Dannis, Jasper and Paul jumped in to do some work on our main running track. First we did some exploratory work to find if one end of our crossing will have enough room for a gauge rod. This will help to maintain this area, since ties are almost impossible to change out in this area. We also cleaned out several of our switches that had debris collect in the moving parts from recent rain and wind. To finish out the morning, we inspected a stretch of track that runs over towards the power plant for some future maintenance work.

After a long lunch to cool down, we worked to repair the coupler knuckle pin puller on Engine 103. Sometime in the recent past, we did some damage to the front coupler pin puller and found that we needed to change it out. Luckily, we found a spare part on our 44 Ton GE locomotive that allowed to complete the repair without needing to wait to buy a part and get it shipped in.

Another fun day doing the work that needs to get done at the Museum. I have included some photos of the work being done today.

– Paul

The Pueblo Downtown Express “mini train” will be in the State Fair Parade on Saturday, August 29. The train is operated by the Pueblo Railway Museum in cooperation with the Pueblo Downtown Association. The parade begins at 10am in Downtown Pueblo. The parade will begin at Union Avenue and Abriendo Avenue, proceed down Union to City Center Drive, east one block to Main Street, then north on Main to 9th Street.

The Pueblo Railway Museum’s tour guide Ron Roach will be driving the train, which was originally built in 1942 as an airport tug and luggage cars. Ron and Museum volunteer John McDowell brought this train back to life following its acquisition by the Pueblo Downtown Association in 2023. The Pueblo Railway Museum stores and operates the train. The train can often be found during our Museum’s train ride events as a “static” display for our train-riding guests to enjoy, but the Colorado State Fair parade is one of the few times when you can see this train in action! The train has a variety of different cars with different themes. For the Colorado State Fair, you’ll see what we call the “Circus Train”!

For more information about the Parade, and the Colorado State Fair in general, click here.

– Dave

On Saturday, August 22, the Pueblo Railway Museum hosted it’s 3rd Rail-fan Day Event. This is an event that caters to folks who like to photograph trains and explore the mechanical and operational side of the railroad world. Volunteers Reid, Dannis, Abel, Nick, Bruce, Jasper and Paul worked to move equipment with Engines 103 & 104 and assemble a couple of trains to showcase our collection and give our visitors some different set-ups to photograph and watch as we moved around. We were also able to bring Engine 102, The Patriot, out for some photo opportunities, and we gave a demonstration of our Hi Rail Maintenance truck and how it operates on the rails.

This being an all day event, lunch was provided, which gave everyone a break and the chance to have a discussion about their hobby, trains. The afternoon was filled with additional equipment moves and rearrangement of the train consists before we started to put the trains away and barely beat a rain downpour right when we were shutting down the locomotives!

Thanks to all who made it out to the event! Included are a few pictures two of us managed to capture, to give an idea of what was available at the event.

Paul

Photos by Paul and Jasper

On Saturday, August 15, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Reid, Abel, Jasper and Paul enjoyed some slightly cooler weather and really dug in to replace two ties and insert three extra ties in a stretch of our main running track to help hold the gauge on a slight curve. The ties that we have been replacing lately are around 80 years old and they are starting to show that age. The three ties that were added into the track are in an area where we have long switch ties that we don’t have replacements for, so we are helping them out with the extra ties to help keep the rail from moving when our trains pass over them.

This project took all day, with only a short lunch break, but it needed to be done. The crew did great work in some high humidity conditions.

Make sure you plan to attend the Rail Fan Day next Saturday 8/22, an all-day event where we will have two locomotives operating and some freight cars moving around that are normally stored away. It’s only $40 for an entire day of trains!

I have included a few photos of today’s work.

– Paul

On Saturday, August 8, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Kendall, Ben, Ron, Dianne, Teia, Michael, John, Jerod, Dannis, Abel and Paul got things rolling to host our guests for some train rides before heading into the new school year. We had quite a few people coming out to ride despite the high temps, and they were having fun! Everything was going smoothly until around 12:30 when on one of our trips we suffered a minor derailment when Engine 102 dropped a couple of wheels off the track.

Now we had our work cut out for us at the hottest part of the day! So out comes the tools and the sweat and a little effort to get the engine back on the rails and the track fixed enough to be able to operate over it to get the train back to our shop yard. Now we get to look forward to more track repair work!

I have included a few pictures of the fun part of the day, and one by Bruce showing the 102 back up on the rails and the intrepid crew making some track repairs.

– Paul

Photos by Paul and Bruce

On Saturday, August 1, volunteers Dwight, Jarod, Ben, Dannis, Nick, Jasper and Paul worked in what may have been the hottest, humid conditions we have had all summer to replace four more ties on our main running track. After dealing with some minor equipment issues first thing, the gang headed out and jumped into the task. The ties that were removed were in very well-used condition and the new ties should keep our track stable for many years.

Lunch came a little late, but everyone was ready to cool off and relax a bit. After lunch, the crew cleaned up the equipment and got things stored back where they belong. There was some minor clean up work that got done, and the high rail equipment truck got a bit of attention before we tied up.

I have included a few photos of the morning tie replacement work.

– Paul

Join the Pueblo Railway Museum for our Back To School Train Rides on Saturday, August 8. Train rides will be available from 10AM to 2PM behind the Pueblo Union Depot. Train ride tickets are $15 for a ride in the engine, and $10 for a ride in one of our three cabooses. Children under 3 ride the train free! Cash or check preferred, but credit cards accepted. Train ride tickets can only be purchased during the event. Purchase your tickets at our Gift Shop, a converted caboose behind the Depot, near the passenger boarding area. Trains depart every 20 minutes, so there will be multiple opportunities during the event to ride the train.

Bring your used train ride tickets to the Pueblo Heritage Museum, across the street from the Pueblo Union Depot, for half-price admission!

Our circus-themed mini-train will be on display, in cooperation with the Pueblo Downtown Association. There is no admission fee to attend the event itself. The charge is only for the train ride.

Our train ride event schedule for 2026 can be found on our Events Page. To receive updates about our upcoming events, follow our blog. Enter your email address on the bottom of this web page and click the “follow” button.

On Saturday, July 25, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Chris, Ben, Jerod, Dannis, Nick, Jasper, and Paul braved very warm and humid conditions and decided to replace four cross ties in our main running track. Both pairs of ties were in an area that had previously been covered with asphalt and gravel which caused the ties we pulled out to be very decomposed! The entire morning was spent working on these ties and dealing with some stubborn equipment before breaking for lunch.

After cooling off a bit in the break room during lunch, the crew split in two with half working on some brake rigging on our very old C&W flatcar A-1, and the other half working to install our flange greaser on engine 104. After a couple of hours in the afternoon heat, everyone was ready to call it a day and retreat to the break room to cool off again and then head home. It doesn’t matter what the conditions are, we always get some constructive work done at the Museum!

I have included some pictures from the tie replacement in the morning.

– Paul

The Pueblo Railway Museum is hosting its summer Railfan Day on Saturday, August 22, from 8am to 5pm. This event is different from our usual public train ride events, and is tailored specifically for our “hardcore railfans” who are interested in photographing our trains in operation. To get a better idea of what this event is all about, click here to see a video posted by one of the friendly folks who attended our Railfan event last summer.

Visitors to this event should arrive at our maintenance shop at 330 West D Street, about two blocks north of the Pueblo Union Depot. From the Pueblo Union Depot, take Victoria Avenue northeast to D Street, turn left, then two blocks northwest on the left. Click here for a map. Click here for Google Maps directions. And be sure to wear closed-toed shoes!

The cost for the event is $40 per person, regardless of age, which includes limited locomotive rides, lots of photo ops, lunch and refreshments provided by some of our museum volunteers, and places to sit down and take a break from the Pueblo heat.

Click here to pre-register for this event. All ticket sales are by credit/debit card. If you pre-register, you can pay for the event in advance. Or you can pay by credit/debit card when you arrive. Pre-registration is highly encouraged so we know how many people to expect.

Our 2026 public train ride event schedule can be found on our Events Page. To receive updates about our upcoming events, follow our blog. Enter your email address on the bottom of this web page and click the “follow” button.

On Saturday, July 18, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Justin, Nick, Bruce, Reid, Jerod, Ben, Dannis, Abel, Doug, Scott, Jasper, Reilly and Paul participated in a basic training course that helped the volunteer crew understand a bit more about the equipment they work with, including the basic components of the air brake system, the hand brakes, how to lace up air hoses and cut in the air for the brakes. The group also worked on learning basic hand signals that effect train operations, and practiced radio calls.

The group took a nice lunch break and enjoyed some pizza before heading out in the hot afternoon sun to learn and practice the proper way to board and alight from steps and ladders on the freight cars and cabooses. Everyone got to practice throwing a track switch and learning how not to throw out your back while doing that! Lastly we switched a couple of pieces of equipment to help tie all of the training together. The volunteers said they all enjoyed learning this information and they said they had fun even though the heat was quite an issue by the end of the day.

I have included a few pictures that were all taken by Ben when he could sneak a minute away from the training!

– Paul