Paul’s Blog – January 3, 2026

On Saturday, January 3, 2026, volunteers Dwight, Chris, Justin, Dannis, Nick, Jerod and Paul got busy for our first work day of 2026 by changing out fuel filters on Engine 103, and then starting it for some work to be completed. We switched out a couple of the cabooses that we will not be using for the Railfan Event in a couple of weeks, and then did some other work to prepare for operating in multiple-unit mode. Chris was also able to get the door locks on DOT-001 removed to be able to figure out what was broken inside the lock mechanisms. It was a pleasant day, and we were able to get a bunch of small tasks completed which is always satisfying.

I have included a few pictures of the work being done today. If you are not able to see the pictures, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Paul’s Blog – December 27, 2025

On Saturday, December 27, for our last work day of 2025, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Jerod, Polly, Dannis, Kendall and Paul first worked on removing the Christmas decorations and lights from our train set, and getting them properly packed and stored away, ready for use next year. A little clean up was done inside the cabooses, and then we worked on the generator, which needed some clean up and an oil change.

After a leisurely lunch hour, we headed out to work on cleaning out a couple of switches near the collection area that will be used in the next couple of weeks for some equipment moves we have planned. The two switches don’t get used often and it has been a couple of years since they were last moved. Wind blown dirt can get into the strangest places in moving equipment! Now these switches are ready to work, and we will use them very soon to get some equipment out for an upcoming event.

With the work done, the crew took an early quit and headed for home. Here are a few photos showing the work getting done. If you are not able to see the photos, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Photos by Paul Brown and Bruce Davis

Putting a bow on our Pueblo Express!

Paul’s Blog – December 19-20, 2025

On Friday, December 19, and Saturday, December 20, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Chris P., Ben, Jerod, Dannis, Nick, Kendall, Reid, Justin, Ron, John, Michael, Diana, Demetris, Teia and Paul worked even harder than last weekend to give nearly 600 guests over two evenings a delightful train ride and a merry experience as Christmas nears. We had so many guests, that we had to scramble to keep them organized and not waiting too long for their ride. Luckily our crews were up to the tasks of serving hot chocolate and cookies in the diner, and entertaining folks with our operating Lionel Christmas layout. Our guests all seemed to be enjoying the evening, with many smiles and good comments about our activity.

Once again the weather provided comfortable conditions, adding to everyone’s enjoyment. The only drawback being that it doesn’t look like a white Christmas for our final event scheduled for Wednesday 12/24, Christmas Eve. And the crews working the event did a great job making this an enjoyable experience for all.

Being a very busy event, I was only able to get a few photos of the crew preparing for work and of our visitors. If you are not able to see the photos, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Paul’s Blog – December 12-13, 2025

On Friday, December 12, and Saturday, December 13, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Chris P, Ben, Jerod, Chris T, Dannis, Polly, Nick, Henry, Kendall, Reid, Justin, Chris F, Ron, John, Michael, Diana, Demetris, Teia and Paul worked very hard to give over 380 guests a delightful train ride and a merry experience to welcome the Christmas season to the Pueblo area. The weather helped out by being chilly but very nice overall through both evenings.

Friday evening was very busy, while Saturday had a slow start, but soon livened up as it got dark. The crews had a good time helping our guests, and a lot of guests were seen smiling!

I have included a few pictures from both evenings’ festivities. If you are not able to see the pictures, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Pueblo Express Train has five dates in December!

Join the Pueblo Railway Museum for our “Pueblo Express” public Christmas Train Ride event on Friday and Saturday, December 12 and 13, Friday and Saturday, December 19 and 20, and Wednesday December 24. Train rides will be available from 4PM to 8PM 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.

Our mini train will once again be on display, in cooperation with the Pueblo Downtown Association. Our Christmas-themed model trains will be open for viewing, free of charge. Enjoy cocoa and cookies in our Diner Car, also free of charge. 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 will be posted soon 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.

Paul’s Blog – December 6, 2025

On Saturday, December 6, volunteers Dwight, Bruce, Chris, Colin, Jerod, Polly, Dannis, Nick and Paul splashed around in the melting snow to get the final touches on our Christmas lights and decorations done on our Pueblo Express Christmas Train. We started the day by clearing a bit of snow that was left behind last Wednesday, and then moved into the cabooses to finish installing the lights and various decorations. Then it was time to check out the generator operation, and test the lights once again since we added a few hundred more.

After lunch, a couple of the guys went out to our grade crossings and cleared debris from the flangeways. We also cleaned up the decoration containers and put the generator back in the shop for safe keeping. We are as ready as we can be for the Christmas events starting next weekend. We hope to see you there!

I have included a few pictures from today’s work session. If you are not able to see the pictures, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Paul’s Blog – November 29, 2025

On Saturday, November 29, volunteers Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Chris, Thomas, Jerod, Polly, Dannis and Paul braved some very chilly conditions to start decorating the trainset for our upcoming Christmas events in December. Everyone jumped in to untangle the light strings, test for burned out bulbs, and climb ladders or up on the equipment to get the decorations installed. Polly did her magic working on decorating the caboose interiors, while Dannis and Paul stocked in some firewood for the stoves. Bruce continued work on the interior cabinet doors in the C&W caboose. Chris, Thomas, Dwight and Colin figured out all the electrical connections to power those lights. This year we set the lights up for a new look on the locomotive. It is good to get the decorating work done, but it was even better to call it a day and get inside to warm up!!

I have included a few pictures of the work that was done today – but you will have to make it out to our Christmas events on December 12 & 13th, 19th & 20th as well as the traditional Christmas Eve rides on the 24th – if you want to see those lights in action! If you are not able to see the photos, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Pueblo Railway Museum at the Parade of Lights, Saturday November 29!

Don’t miss the Pueblo Parade of Lights on November 29, starting at 5:30 PM! The Pueblo Railway Museum is helping Santa ride in the parade on the Pueblo Downtown Express! The Pueblo Downtown Association and the Pueblo Railway Museum are working together to once again bring this Christmas Train to the good citizens of Pueblo.

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 Downtown Association has made an agreement with the Pueblo Railway Foundation that the Pueblo Railway Museum would store and operate the train and keep it running. The train has sets of cars with many different themes. The train has made many appearances during our Museum’s train ride events this past year as a “static” display, but the Parade of Lights is one of your only chances to see the train in action!

For information on parking and the parade route, click here.

Check out these photos from the parade website’s archive, of our train in last year’s parade! If you are not able to see the photos, click here to go to our Blog Page.

And be sure to come visit our Pueblo Express Christmas trains! The schedule is on our Events Page.

Paul’s Blog – November 22, 2025

On Saturday, November 22, volunteers Ron, John, Michael, Diana, Demetris, Teia, Dwight, Colin, Bruce, Chris, Reid, Jerod, Dannis, Nick and Paul worked hard to provide our guests with an enjoyable train ride on a beautiful Colorado fall day. After getting equipment ready to roll and tickets ready to sell, we were greeted with many enthusiastic folks who really wanted to ride our train! In all, about 90 friendly folks came for a train ride, making it a good turnout, especially since this November event has not been traditionally on our train ride calendar in years past.

The four hours of the event just flew by and before we knew it, it was time to park the train and tie up. Thanks to all the volunteers who make it possible to provide the train rides.

Our Pueblo Express Christmas train rides are coming up soon! Go to our Events Page for dates and times!

I have included a few pictures. If you are not able to see the pictures, click here to go to our Blog Page.

– Paul

Photos by Paul Brown and Chris Pollard