COG TRAIN COLORADO UPGRADE

After a hiatus of almost four years, Broadmoor, Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway resumed running in May 2021 and, following a $100 million rebuild, the future of the world’s highest cog railway appears secure. Justin Franz photoįortunately, that didn’t happen. The building on the right was once a trolley depot but now houses the cog railway’s main offices. Was this to be the end of more than a century of operation, pushing the iconic cog railway to the pages of history like other local railroads, such as Colorado Midland, Midland Terminal, and Mount Manitou Incline Railways?ĪBOVE: A train prepares to depart the rebuilt Manitou Springs, Colo., station on October 22, 2021.

COG TRAIN COLORADO UPGRADE

But that pause in service revealed that a lot of money would be needed to upgrade the century-old cog railway to 21st century standards. Six months before that press release was issued, the railroad had been shut down in late 2017 for maintenance. The release went on to point out that operations were doubtful for the railway’s foreseeable future, given the lack of maintenance on the equipment and right-of-way for the previous decade. The Broadmoor Hotel, which owns the railway operation, issued a terse press release stating that after 126 years in business, there would be no spring 2018 reopening, after an almost-six-month shutdown. In March 2018, the future of Colorado’s Broadmoor, Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway was in doubt.

Cog train colorado