On Saturday, April 25, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Kendall, Chris, Bruce, Jerod, Nick, Dannis, Abel, Doug and Paul jumped into the work of replacing 5 more ties in our main running track. After rounding up the tools and a stack of ties, we headed out to the work area and were promptly greeted by a passing BNSF train. Some train watching to start the day! Work went smoothly and we had 4 ties all spiked in before lunch.

After a lunch break, with a taco bar provided by Doug, the crew resumed work with some tie plate placement and sinking some spikes back in. We checked another area of track and decided to replace one more tie to support a track joint. It really needed to be done because the tie came out in about six pieces!! After a quick clean up of tools, we did some planning for next weeks work, yep some more ties to replace.

I have included some photos of today’s “track gang” in action.

– Paul

Photos by Paul and Kendall

On Saturday, April 18, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Kendall, Ben, Jerod, Dannis, Nick and Paul got down to business doing tie replacement on our main running track in the area where we had our minor derailment a couple weeks back. The old ties had done their duty and gave up, so we had to get some solid wood back under the rails. Once all the tools were rounded up, we headed out to the mainline where picks and shovels started flying! Three ties were replaced before lunch.

After the lunch break, the gang threw some ballast in place, and worked on getting tie plates secured on some of the remaining ties. We then surveyed the track to plan for next week’s work day, when we are planning to replace 4 more ties. During the day, we were able to see a few trains roll by on the BNSF main, and even caught a couple pieces of track repair equipment that the gang would have loved to have borrowed for the day! You never know what you might see while working hard at the Pueblo Railway Museum!

I have included a few pictures showing the work being done.

– Paul

Photos by Paul and Bruce

On Saturday, April 4, volunteers Ron, Teia, Dianne, Michael, John, Dwight, Reid, Kendall, Bruce, Nick (#1), Ben, Nick (#2), Colin, Jared, Sandra, Gabriel, Dannis and Paul gathered to get our trains out and operate some rides for our guests for Easter. Everyone worked hard to get the train ready to roll, and we boarded our first guests and headed out of the Depot to the end of the line. On the return leg, Engine 102 and our track had a disagreement, and a slight derailment was the result of some track with too-wide gauge. This mishap abruptly ended our rides in the first half hour. After a quick look at the situation, it was determined that we could get the wheels back on the track with a little help from some tie plates. The unknown was whether we could prop up the track well enough to keep operating. Reid, Bruce, both Nicks, Ben, Colin, Jared, Dannis and Paul jumped in and gathered the tools needed to make the repair. We borrowed a couple of gauge rods from another area of our track, and reset some spikes to set the correct gauge, and after two hours we ran over the track for a quick test.

With everything back on the track, the crew got back to the Depot platforms and loaded up some passengers for a ride. Some guests had waited until the repairs were done to get their ride, and we had a decent turnout of about 110 riders for the last couple of hours, including an extra hour we worked to make up for some of the time lost earlier.

Today was a great example of what our team of volunteers does at the Museum regularly to keep the operation going. Now we have to plan the next round of tie replacement on our track!

Nearly all of the pictures this time feature the track repair action. In addition to my pictures, Bruce and Ben pitched in with some of their own.

– Paul

Photos by Paul, Bruce and Ben

On Saturday, March 28, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Jerod, Nick, Reid, Gabriel, Sandra and Paul enjoyed the excellent early Spring weather by doing the MOST IMPORTANT work we do at the Museum, cleaning up blown-in tumbleweeds from around our equipment. Today’s crop was rather light, with only two pickup bed fulls to mash into the dumpster. While over at the collection area, we were able to install some wash out plugs back into the 2912’s boiler. Upon returning to the shop yard and dealing with a few more weeds and filling our dumpster, the crew did a thorough cleaning of our cabooses to be ready for next week’s event. Then it was lunch time.

After lunch, the group split up with some of the group jumping into reinstalling a pin in the lift mast of the Massey Ferguson, which after some effort we were able to get installed. Dwight did some work to change out a power supply for the radio on Engine 102, and then we checked the batteries on the engine and plugged in the charger to top off the charge and check the battery health. We did some other minor work around the shop before finishing up with a sense of accomplishment.

I have included a few pictures of today’s activities.

– Paul

On Saturday March 21, volunteers Dwight, Kendall, Jerod, Ben, Dannis, Bryan, Nick, Nick (yes two separate Nick’s!), Bruce, Colin, and Paul got busy early, on what promised to be a hot and very busy day. The main goal of the day was to get Engine 102 ready for use over the next six months. We started out by getting Engine 104 started and ready to move. Then we added coolant and changed fuel filters on Engine 102. We had got the track connections done earlier, so it was time to pull 102 out and give her the annual wash job. A rotating group worked on washing the locomotive, while another group cleaned the shop floor where 102 had sat during the winter. This work got us up to lunch time and we took a quick break.

After lunch, it was time to get Engine 102 started and checked out. While she was warming up, the windows were cleaned and the wash equipment was put away. We also added lube oil to the engine after it warmed up. It only took 40 gallons to top her off! Then we backed Engine 104 and the three cabooses out around our sharp curve, to check out the track work we did there last week. Everything looked good, so it was time to park 104 out of the way and get 102 hooked up to the cabooses to be ready for the upcoming events. Things were going very well, so we decided to do some more work, which included adding an accessory to Engine 102, and working to repair a problem that was spotted on our Massey Ferguson Forklift. We finally wrapped up around 6:00pm, a rather long day for the Museum volunteers.

I have included some photos that Bruce and I were able to catch of the work being done.

– Paul

Photos by Paul and Bruce

On Saturday, March 14, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Chris, Ben, Kendall, Jerod, Dannis, Scott and Paul got busy fixing some track. We spent the morning replacing two ties in the sharp curve leading into the shop area. We picked a couple of bad ties in the area where we experienced a slight derailment last week, and replaced them with solid pieces from our stockpile. Replacing ties is one of our crew’s favorite activities because everyone gets a chance to drive spikes!

This work took us up to lunch time, and a short but well deserved break. After lunch, we elected to replace one more tie that had a broken end. We were able to get the work done and tools and equipment put away before the wind really started blowing.

I have included a few photos of today’s activity. You may spot a couple of us breaking a sweat!

– Paul

Photos by Paul and Bruce!

On Sunday, March 8, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Chris, Ben, Kendall, Reid, Dannis, Nick, Dianne, Ron, John, and Paul got our train ready and provided a nice set of rides to a large group of folks who came out to support the Museum.

This event was in conjunction with a presentation that was held at Pueblo Union Depot to update folks about the Front Range Passenger Rail Initiative, and an upcoming request to voters to approve a tax which will help provide rail service along the Front Range. There was some overlap of customers from this presentation, along with others who just attended our Museum event. During this event, we were able to work with some new signage that is hoped to help passengers better understand where the locomotive and cabooses are located for boarding. It was a successful event with over 150 people attending.

I have included a few photos I was able to grab while busy running the train.

– Paul

On Saturday, March 7, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Chris, Kendall, Dannis, Nick, Ben, Reid, and Paul worked at the D Street Shop to get our caboose equipment cleaned and ready for use for our first event of 2026 on March 8. We also needed to start Engine 103 to switch equipment for the proper consist for the event. While starting the locomotive, we ran into some trouble with a relay causing the fuel pump to stop. After solving that issue, we had a good start and finished the work. After the equipment switching was completed, Engine 103 was taken out to the main running track to check the track and locations for the event on Sunday.

While bringing Engine 103 back into the shop to tie up, we suffered a minor derailment on a sharp curve leading into the shop yard. So it turned into a training event for some of the volunteers, to learn what is needed to rerail a locomotive. We successfully got the engine back on the track, repaired the rails to keep the incident from happening again, and were finally able to tie up about an hour later.

I have included some photos of the work completed before the incidents.

– Paul

On Saturday, February 28, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Kendall, Chris, Dannis, Jerod, Reid and Paul spread out and covered multiple projects. Bruce, Jerod and Reid jumped on the C&S Caboose and installed some roofing on the cupola. Chris and Dwight got busy working on an axle for the Gang Car. Kendall, Dannis and Paul worked to top off the hydraulic fluid on several pieces of equipment. These projects lasted up until lunchtime, when Colin ran out to grab pizza for everyone.

After lunch, Dwight and Chris kept at their project with the Gang Car axle, while the rest of the gang headed out to the track construction to install a couple sets of joint bars. It took a bit of searching to locate suitable joint bars, but Bruce and Reid delivered by finding bars that fit! Once the bolts were tightened on the track, things were looking pretty good. The gang tied up with a little discussion of upcoming projects and next weekend’s event with Front Range Passenger Rail.

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

– Paul

Join the Pueblo Railway Museum for Train Rides at the Depot on Sunday, March 8, and find out what’s new with Front Range Passenger Rail. FRPR will present an update in the Pueblo Union Depot from 1PM to 2:30PM. Train rides will be available from 12PM to 4PM behind the 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.

There is no admission fee to attend the event itself. The presentation by FRPR is also free to attend. The charge is only for the train ride.

Our train ride event schedule for 2026 can be found on our Events Page. We will be adding more events as the year progresses. 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.