Colorado/Railroads
Due to recent wiki and associated software upgrades, the map details are not-quite-correct. To fix, please select "Transport Map" from the upper-right "layers stack" icon to see Colorado's rail infrastructure networks; zoom in to see tracks and stations. As this is a "live" slippy map, it can be panned and zoomed.
Introduction
This wiki documents Colorado's active freight, industrial and passenger rail as entered into OSM. (Disused and Abandoned rail tables seem "poor to fair," as they remain incomplete). These data began with OSM-US' 2008 TIGER import, in 2018 were "stubbed inwards" from Colorado's boundary and further developed with Overpass Turbo (OT) queries (numerous shared OT query links are below) as they were documented in this wiki. Some data were improved using USA's Federal Rail Authority GIS site. As an "early alpha," this wiki is incomplete and likely has minor errors. See United_States/Railroads for suggestions on how to better complete OSM's Colorado/Railroads data together with this wiki, including strategies for TIGER Review. Important tasks now are TIGER Review and completing correct route=railway
relations as documented in United_States/Railroads. Passenger rail often follows, though these often can and do improve in parallel. State by state, OSM better completes USA Rail!
USA state-level rail wikis like this often divide rail organization into "infrastructure" (correctly-tagged rail track elements in route=railway
relations) and "passenger rail" — either route=train
relations if passenger=national
, passenger=regional
or passenger=suburban
, or if not one of these, route=light_rail
, route=tram
or route=monorail
relations, perhaps with a passenger=urban
or passenger=local
tag. While mapping and wiki-documenting USA rail, it is often less confusing to (largely) finish "infrastructure first:" TIGER Reviewed track elements with correct name=*
and usage=*
tags collected as members into proper route=railway
("Subdivision") relations. Then, with infrastructure (largely) complete, combine proper rail elements into v1 passenger routes (if any) with stations and platforms, finally improving these to v2 with a type=route_master
relation containing all route=train
relations.
Colorado's major (Class I) rail operators are BNSF and Union Pacific (UP). Primarily freight/industrial long-distance mainline railroads, BNSF and UP in Colorado also support Amtrak passenger=national
trains California Zephyr℠ (Chicago - Bay Area, California) and Southwest Chief® (Chicago - Los Angeles). Also in OSM (and this wiki) are Colorado passenger=suburban
, passenger=urban
and passenger=local
rail routes; Denver RTD has passenger rail of the first two types. These shorter passenger rail (sometimes called "commuter" rail when tagged passenger=suburban
) improve while OSM completes TIGER Review on railway infrastructure, documenting completion here as we do so. Finally, Colorado has more tourism/historic/heritage/museum/mining (and amusement park) rail than is documented here: these sort into their own sections/tables as their route=railway
and route=train
details become better, more fully known.
State of this wiki and map data: OSM declares this wiki in an alpha phase, as a sensible initial structure is established. (Often used to describe stages of software development, these phases are used here to describe the state of Colorado/Railroad data in OSM and completeness of this wiki in documenting those data). Yes, there is much red- and yellow-status TIGER Review to do on railway infrastructure. Some TIGER data have blurred and need "untangling." Disused and Abandoned rail lack being fully documented here. Passenger rail is almost complete (a few tourism routes to finish) as rudimentary public_transport:version=1
, while Denver RTD rail now improves from v1 to partial and early v2 "seeds." More-local volunteers, step right up, please. Colorado OSM volunteers seem well equipped to complete TIGER Review, further develop passenger routes to v2 and keep railway/train routes and this wiki updated. Thank you!
Active Lines
Distinguish Mainline, Branch and Industrial Rail by assigning usage=*
tags on infrastructure members of route=railway
(Subdivision) relations. Short Line Rail (often Class III railroads) has its own section and mostly isn't usage=main
(though it can be), Short Lines are usually usage=branch
or usage=industrial
.
BNSF Railway (BNSF)
A major Class I North American railway. Untangling Pikes Peak with Colorado Springs and Spanish Peaks with Walsenburg Subdivisions (between BNSF and UP as owners/operators) might be challenging, as the TIGER data got so blurred/confused that more authoritative sources are required. The FRA GIS site noted above is considered by rail professionals to be "authoritative" (and because the data are federal, are in the public domain, so OSM can use them), though it can be slow to load, even on a fast 'net connection: zoom in close for better performance.
Mainline
Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=main
.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Akron Subdivision | 1421740![]() |
Brush - Akron - Otis - Kansas Line and eastward | Mostly done, still needs about 15% review to complete | Supports Amtrak California Zephyr passenger=national route=train s.
|
Angora Subdivision | 1421773![]() |
Sterling - Sidney, Nebraska - Dalton, Nebraska | Mostly done, still needs about 20% review to complete | Trackage rights south of Sterling allow BNSF to connect to its Brush and Akron Subdivisions. |
Boise City Subdivision | 1420815![]() |
La Junta - Las Animas - Springfield - Boise City, Oklahoma - Amarillo, Texas | Mostly done, still needs about 40% review to complete | |
Brush Subdivision | 1421741![]() |
Union (Julesburg Subdivision) - Brush - Fort Morgan - Wiggins - Hudson - Lockbuie - Commerce City - Denver | Mostly done, still needs about 40% review to complete | Supports Amtrak California Zephyr passenger=national route=train s.
|
Front Range Subdivision | 1421774![]() |
Denver - Wesminster - Broomfield - Louisville - Boulder - Longmont - Loveland - Fort Collins - Cheyenne, Wyoming and beyond | TIGER review nearly done | Needs minor review: should "Buck Main" elements should be included or excluded? A short usage=industrial service=spur (name=2nd Street Southwest Spur ?) serves Loveland.
|
Glenwood Springs Subdivision | 1419635![]() |
Bond - Dotsero - Glenwood Springs - New Castle - Rifle - Parachute - Palisade - Grand Junction | TIGER review nearly done | Several usage=industrial service=spur s serve Grand Junction
|
La Junta Subdivision | 1431384![]() |
Boise City Subdivision (near Las Animas) - Lamar - Granada - Holly - Kansas Line and eastward | Almost completely un-reviewed with respect to TIGER tags | |
Pikes Peak Subdivision | 1420811![]() |
Denver - Castle Rock - Palmer Lake - Gap - Colorado Springs - Gap - Fountain - Pueblo | More than halfway TIGER-reviewed, still needs a lot of work | Segments are confused in naming, sharing BNSF and UP. UP has trackage rights, unclear exactly where. Denote on railway by tagging with correct owner=* and operator=* tags. Around Colorado Springs, untangle with UP's Colorado Springs Subdivision. Pikes Peak is owner=BNSF (on the west of Pueblo) and Colorado Springs is owner=UP (in the center of and easterly in and north of Pueblo). A segment of both routes north of Colorado Springs is single-tracked.
|
Pueblo Subdivision | 1420809![]() |
Pueblo - DoD Pueblo Chemical Depot - Boone - Fowler - Manzanada - Rocky Ford - Swink - La Junta | Appears to be fully TIGER-reviewed, but the relation itself needs a lot of work | Denote on railway where UP has trackage rights by tagging with correct owner=* and operator=* tags.
|
Raton Subdivision | 1420813![]() |
La Junta - Trinidad - Starkville - Raton, New Mexico - Las Vegas, New Mexico | Mostly done, still needs about 30% review to complete | Supports Amtrak Southwest Chief passenger=national route=train s.
|
Spanish Peaks Subdivision | 1420816![]() |
Trinidad - Walsenburg - Pueblo | Partly done, still needs about 60% review to complete | Segments have confused owner=* and operator=* tags. Spanish Peaks should be owner=BNSF and Walsenburg should be owner=UP . There are two lines/two tracks (three in places). According to US FRA's GIS site: Spanish Peaks has segments where both UP and BNSF are owners and others where BNSF is exclusive owner while UP has trackage rights. Trinidad north to Walsenburg BNSF is owner. Walsenburg north to Lascar is unclear. Lascar north to Commanche Spur, BNSF and UP share ownership. Commanche Spur north to Bessemer Junction, BNSF is owner. Bessemer Junction northwards, UP is owner, BNSF has trackage rights to Pueblo Junction (Pikes Peak Subdivision).
|
Twin Peaks Subdivision | 1420812![]() |
Trinidad - Trinchera - Branson - Folsom, New Mexico - Des Moines, New Mexico - Clayton, New Mexico - Texline, Texas | Mostly done, still needs about 40% review to complete |
Branch
Seems accurate. Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=branch
.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jersey Cut Off | 8628645![]() |
Denver | Done | May need a bit of work aligning with (Old) "Buck Main" |
Golden Subdivision | 1430211![]() |
Golden - Arvada - Berkley | Needs TIGER review | |
Lyons Branch | 1430212![]() |
Longmont - Hygiene - near Colorado SR 7/SR 36 intersection near Lyons | Largely TIGER reviewed | FIXME tags ask exactly where is the western end? Western end connects to old CB&Q abandoned line which continues to Lyons |
Industrial
Needs work in Denver and Commerce City. Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=industrial
.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brush Power Plant Supply | The single way is entered | S off of Brush Subdivision E of Fort Morgan | No TIGER tags | Name is a guess. Additional sidings/yard/spur tags may need improvement. |
Burnham Industrial Spur | 8676736![]() |
W of of Burnham Yard, Denver | Done | Name is a guess. Serves Xcel Energy and Quivas Ready Mix. |
Cloverleaf Spur | 8676736![]() |
NE of Fort Collins | Moderately TIGER reviewed | Near the sidings this is accurate, but the main segment that diagonals SE still needs TIGER review; please check and finish tagging on the whole spur. Name is speculative based on the street name (east of I-25 underpass) of the industrial-appearing building at the final destination. |
Electron Lead | 8697787![]() |
Littleton/Sheridan | Partially TIGER Reviewed | Serves an industrial park SW of US 85 and West Oxford Avenue |
Kountry Line | 1430210![]() |
Denver - Arapahoe Station | Moderately TIGER reviewed | Goes a bit further south past the power plant to an industrial district with spurs; please check and finish tagging on the whole railway |
Lafayette Industrial Spur | 8628976![]() |
Front Range Subdivision - Lafayette | Needs TIGER review | Needs better usage=* tags
|
Lamar Industrial Spur | The single way is entered | Lamar | No TIGER tags | Rather confused; needs better service=* and perhaps usage=* tagging around Lamar
|
South Dakota Cement | 8628976![]() |
Denver and Adams County | Done | |
Trinidad Industrial Spur | 8596322![]() |
Trinidad | Needs TIGER review | |
Western Sugar Plant Spur | The single way is entered | Fort Morgan | No TIGER tags |
Union Pacific (UP)
A major Class I North American railway.
Mainline
Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=main
.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Colorado Springs Subdivision | 1420814![]() |
Denver - Castle Rock - Colorado Springs - Pueblo | Mostly done, still needs about 40% review to complete | Fix this. Elements are confused in naming, sharing BNSF and UP. UP is owner, BNSF does have trackage rights, denote this at the track-element level by tagging with correct owner=* and operator=* tags. Better name=* tags on specific track elements is helpful. Around Colorado Springs, untangle with Pikes Peak Subdivision.
|
Greeley Subdivision | 1421733![]() |
Denver - Brighton - Greely - Wyoming line | Done | There is a minor spur to a feedlot at Greeley Junction. |
Green River Subdivision | 1419636![]() |
Grand Junction - Utah line - Green River, Utah - Helper, Utah | Spottily TIGER Reviewed; change to yes if/as you complete it | Supports Amtrak California Zephyr passenger=national route=train s. Several usage=industrial service=spur s serve Grand Junction and Fruita.
|
Limon Subdivision | 1421728![]() |
Denver - Sharon Springs, Kansas | About one-third TIGER reviewed | There are a LOT of industrial spurs off the western end of this (north of the Peoria Commuter rail station), as well as further eastward, near where this rail crosses I-70. Please review these and better tag the elements, if necessary. |
Moffet Tunnel Subdivision | 1419634![]() |
Denver (at Greeley Subdivision) - Arvada Gold Strike Station - "Big Ten Curve" / Coal Creek Canyon Park - Rollinsville - Tolland - Winter Park - Fraser - Tabernash (split) - Granby - Hot Sulphur Springs - Kremmling - Yampa - Phippsburg - Craig Subdivision | Almost zero TIGER review completed | Supports Amtrak California Zephyr passenger=national route=train s. Coordinate with other Julesburg routes, these need harmonization. The last 3 miles / 5 km of several track elements connecting to Greeley Subdivision in Commerce City are named "East Denver Belt Line" though are included in this relation.
|
Sidney Subdivision | 7129340![]() |
North Platte, Nebraska - Julesburg - Cheynne, Wyoming | Done on entire relation, though a "double-check" review of the entire Sidney Subdivision (compared to FRA GIS data) is appreciated | Does this need to be harmonized with other routes around Julesburg? |
Tennessee Pass Subdivision | 1419637![]() |
Pueblo - Cañon City - Salida - Tennessee Pass - Dotsero | Somewhat TIGER reviewed, still more to do | Supports Amtrak California Zephyr passenger=national route=train s. Parts of this are tagged railway=disused ; please check and fix. Also, usage=* tags seem confused. Needs work; see RRRR and railcar storage.
|
Walsenburg Subdivision | 1420808![]() |
Walsenburg - Pueblo | Some done, still needs about 50% review to complete | BNSF has trackage rights |
Branch
Seems accurate, though check name=*
tags, these may be no more than an educated guess. As TIGER-imported data, it is often correct to simply change the name=*
to operator=*
tag. Finding a "current" or "local" name for a route=railway
isn't always easy. Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=branch
.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Craig Subdivision | 1419638![]() |
Phippsburg - Oak Creek - Steamboat Springs - Craig - Empire Junction | Partially completed | Largely tagged usage=branch , please tag all elements in the relation consistently. There is a split south of the city of Craig that needs cleanup/untangling.
|
Fort Collins Subdivision | 1430165![]() |
Fort Collins area, Timberline substation SSE - South Platte River - Milliken - La Salle Lead | Partially completed | Not sure where the edges are; fix |
Julesburg Subdivision | 1421772![]() |
Union at Brush Subdivision - Sterling - Julesburg | Done | From Brush Subdivision to Sterling, up to the Angora Subdivision crossover, is tagged usage=main . North, then east of Sterling this is tagged usage=branch . There is a spur (part disused, part abandoned) to the east of Ovid about which little is known.
|
North Fork Subdivision | 1429187![]() |
Grand Junction - Delta - Hotchkiss - Paonia - West Elk Mine | Partially completed | Largely tagged usage=branch , please tag all elements in the relation consistently
|
La Salle (Industrial) Lead | 1430164![]() |
La Salle (Greeley Subdivision) - South Platte River - Fort Collins Subdivision | Incomplete | Acts like "branch," is named "industrial" so, go figure |
Pinnacle Peak Spur | 8634445![]() |
Craig Subdivision near Milner/Saddle Mountain - Pinnacle Peak | Needs TIGER review | Name is a guess |
UP Track 604 Sandown Line | 8647186![]() |
Commerce City - Belt Jct., East Denver Belt Line (Moffat Tunnel Subdivision) | Needs TIGER review | Might be better named, might not! There are a LOT of industrial spurs south of this branch; please review them and better tag them if needed. |
Industrial
Needs work in Denver and Commerce City. Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=industrial
.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Boettcher Industrial Lead | 1430166![]() |
Larimer County | Done | |
Boulder Industrial Lead | 1430016![]() |
Commerce City | Partially TIGER reviewed | See the Union Pacific sub-section of the Abandoned section. Not clear where UP and BNSF histories/lines split. |
Canon City Spur | 8642558![]() |
About 2 km of spur in Pueblo off the southern end of Tennessee Subdivision, quite far east of Cañon City (to which it once might have connected through what is now Pueblo Reservoir?). | Needs TIGER review | Not sure if this is actually usage=industrial . May be used for railcar storage. Name is a guess.
|
Craig Industrial Lead | The single way is entered | Off Craig Subdivision to Mack Lane in Craig | Done | Tangled up with Craig Subdivision; not known where the split/boundaries between lines are |
Craig Quarry Spur | 8596344![]() |
To serve a quarry off Craig Subdivision | Incomplete | Connects to Craig Quarry Spur (and Empire Industrial Lead) at Empire Junction |
Empire Industrial Lead | 1430178![]() |
Once served Eagle #5 Coal Mine off the end of Craig Subdivision. Tagged usage=industrial but may be disused or abandoned.
|
Incomplete | |
Fort Carson Spur | 8624674![]() |
To serve some military rail inside of Fort Carson | Mostly TIGER reviewed | |
Fort Collins Industrial Lead | 1430168![]() |
Fort Collins area, about 12.7 km. From Timberline substation north to Kluver Reservoir Number 2 | Incomplete | |
Hayden Industrial Spur | 8634349![]() |
Serves Hayden power plant off Craig Subdivision | No TIGER tags | |
Monfort Industrial Lead | 1430017![]() |
La Salle - Kersey | Partially complete | Not much is known about the abandoned segments east of Kuner, all the way to Julesburg Subdivision (NE of Brush). Please better tag and update the Abandoned table(s) here if you have better knowledge than what is now in OSM. |
Montrose Industrial Lead | 1429188![]() |
Delta (North Fork Subdivision) - Montrose | Needs TIGER review | Please fix: might be a UP industrial line, might be a Class III railroad |
Parachute Industrial Lead | 1430185![]() |
Grand Junction - Delta - Hotchkiss - West Elk Mine | Unknown | |
Rocky Flats Industrial Lead | 1430167![]() |
Off Moffat Tunnel Subdivision near Coal Creek Canyon park northwards | Done | A spur north towards the National Wind Technology Center and a partial easterly spur (and a guessed-at abandoned/razed continuation) to a DOE Legacy site (now roughly Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge). |
Ute Industrial Lead | 1430176![]() |
SW of Craig | Done | Short spur off Craig Subdivision at Ute Junction |
West Rifle Industrial Lead | The single way is entered | W of Rifle | Done | Short spur off Craig Subdivision. Name is a guess. |
Short Line Rail
This attempts to be complete but is rough; please endeavor to review and improve. Try OpenRailwayMap (ORM) as it displays rail infrastructure, usage=*
tags as different colors, name=*
and other rail-related tags (tunnels/bridges, maxspeed=*
, switches, signals and much more).
Branch
Seems accurate (even as it includes speculation and guesswork), though try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=branch
. Yes, better, local knowledge IS BETTER!
Cimmaron Valley Railroad (CVR)
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cimmaron Valley Railroad | 8630926![]() |
Springfield - Walsh - Kansas Line | No TIGER review | This is the operator, no better name=* is known. Only the Colorado portion is included in this relation.
|
Great Western Railway (GWR)
Owned by OmniTRAX (a "railroad holding company"), Great Western Railway of Colorado, LLC operates multiple branch rail serving Fort Collins, Greeley, Kelim, Loveland, Johnstown, Longmont, Mead, Milliken and Windsor. GWR operates 80+ miles (~130 km) of track, interchanging with BNSF in Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont and with UP in Greeley. GWR appears to have trackage rights on a short segment of Front Range Subdivision north of Fort Collins to GWR spur at the AB-InBev Plant. Greeley's Modern Railroad Museum is at the terminus of Fort Collins to Greeley branch. See also Great Western Trail in Railtrail section.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fort Collins to Greeley | 8633547![]() |
Fort Collins - Windsor - Greeley | Partially TIGER reviewed | Name and specific segmenting are a guess |
Johnstown Welty Industrial Spur | 8681381![]() |
Johnstown - Kahler | Needs TIGER review | This is tagged usage=industrial rather than usage=branch as it appears to be used for railcar storage before devolving into an abandoned line segment west of Kahler (it isn't clear where the western end is, though there is a siding at Kahler). Name and specific segmenting are a guess.
|
Johnstown to Milliken | 8681380![]() |
Milliken | Needs TIGER review | Name and specific segmenting are a guess |
Loveland to Johnstown | 8681382![]() |
Loveland - Kelim - Johnstown | Needs TIGER review | Name and specific segmenting are a guess |
Longmont to Johnstown | 8681379![]() |
Longmont - Mead - Johnstown | Needs TIGER review | Name and specific segmenting are a guess |
Windsor to Kelim | 8681378![]() |
Windsor - Kelim | Needs TIGER review | Name and specific segmenting are a guess |
Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (KO)
The only known K&O railroad in Colorado is Hoisington Subdivision/Towner Line. As its status isn't known, (it may be disused), its entry is repeated in Disused section. According to wikipedia in 2005 (retrieved September 1, 2018), K&O owns ten other subdivisions besides Hoisington/Towner, all 11 in Kansas. K&O operates 820 miles on these 11 lines, another 84 miles is accounted for in trackage rights, perhaps these enter as a table in a Kansas/Railroads wiki? This single Colorado entry seems to suffice here since it appears only Towner is served via K&O's Hoisington Subdivision. How is this related to "Colorado Pacific Railroad" (COPR) if that entity exists? Caution: wet paint.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hoisington Subdivision? (Towner Line only in Colorado?) | 8630771![]() |
Pueblo Subdivision(s) - Ordway - Sugar City - Eads - Kansas Line (also listed as "Geneseo, Kansas to McCracken, Kansas and Healy, Kansas to Towner, Colorado") | Largely TIGER unreviewed | Towner Line? Hoisington Subdivision? A subsidiary of Watco Companies, so tag (owner=Watco ). Add tag operator=Kansas & Oklahoma or operator=KO ?
|
Kyle Railroad (KYLE)
Additional/remaining KYLE properties and trackage rights are complex and undergo frequent change; see w:Kyle_Railroad.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Goodland Subdivision | 8630889![]() |
Limon - Flagler - Kansas Line | Somewhat TIGER reviewed | Needs double checking as to latest ownership and usage tagging; rough. |
Nebraska Kansas Colorado Railway (NKCR)
There are many other railway properties owned by NKCR, this is the only one believed to be in Colorado.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wallace Subdivision | 8605834![]() |
Sterling - Fleming - Haxtun - Holyoke - Nebraska Line | Fully TIGER reviewed | Owned by OmniTRAX, a "railroad holding company." Name "Wallace Subdivision" is believed correct, but might not be. |
San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad (SLRG)
SLRG is a class III railroad established by RailAmerica following divestiture of the tracks by UP (after acquisition of the D&RGW through merger with SP). Permian Basin Railways (a "railroad holding company") purchased SLRG from RailAmerica in 2005, so tag owner=Permian Basin Railways
. SLRG operates three lines radiating from Alamosa: east to Walsenburg (over La Veta Pass) interchanging with UP, Alamosa south to Antonito, where it meets narrow gauge Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and Alamosa westward to Creede, serving San Luis Central Railroad.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alamosa-Antonio Branch | 8630145![]() |
Alamosa - Antonio | Needs TIGER review | Name is a guess |
Creede Branch | 1429433![]() |
Alamosa - Del Norte - Creede | Only lightly TIGER reviewed | Went as far as South Park at some point? Very little data. |
Alamosa-Walsenburg Branch | 1429380![]() |
Alamosa - La Veta Pass - Walsenburg | Only lightly TIGER reviewed | Name is a guess |
San Luis Central Railroad (SLC)
SLC hauls sugar beets from grower to processor, operating freight traffic (grain, potatoes, fertilizer) through SLRG on its Creede Branch.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
San Luis Central Railroad | 8596346![]() |
Sugar Junction (east of Monte Vista) - Center | Partially TIGER reviewed | Largely tagged usage=branch , please tag all elements in the relation consistently. Is there any more-specific name known for the line?
|
Utah Railway (UTAH)
In Colorado, this class III railroad, owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (a "railroad holding company") has trackage rights on UP's Green River Subdivision only between Grand Junction west to the Utah line. Operating mostly in Utah (and for about 35 miles / 56 km in Colorado), over 423 miles (681 km) between Grand Junction and Provo, Utah, 45 miles (72 km) believed to be owned, the rest as trackage rights via BNSF and UP. Tagged now as UP rail, UP elements may or may not be UP (could be UTAH; it could be that existing UP-ownership tagging is a TIGER-vestige); please clarify tags here if you can, please.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Trackage rights on Green River Subdivision | Relation not defined yet | Grand Junction - west to Utah line | Fully TIGER reviewed | Should we make a separate relation for the Colorado portion of this, with elements tagged operator=Utah Railway ?
|
Industrial
Try a Colorado-based OT query for usage=industrial
. Yes, better, local knowledge IS BETTER! There is a lot of industrial-appearing rail in and around Commerce City/that part of Denver near there and it isn't known which of these many spurs are UP or BNSF (most likely are) or are "other" (Class III?) rail that might go into this section. Map your best!
Colorado and Wyoming Railway (CW)
Sometimes known as "C&W Railroad," a subsidiary of Evraz North America, is on several miles/km of track inside Pueblo Steel Mills facility, believed interchanging with both UP and BNSF.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
C&W Railroad | 8596066![]() |
Pueblo | Nearly complete | Needs minor work; yard line, some touchup, maybe final tagging |
Denver Rock Island Railroad (DRIR)
A Class III switching/terminal railroad in Commerce City, interchanges with UP and BNSF, tag usage=industrial
.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cherokee Generating Station Spur | 8669389![]() |
Commerce City | Done | Might be a private railroad, might be a UP or DRIR industrial spur, not known |
Denver Rock Island Railroad | 8633573![]() |
Commerce City, Denver | Done | Scattered tracks around Denver Union Stockyard. Needs a fair bit of (OSM tagging) work. Connect multiple yards? Needs work; seems incomplete. |
North Washington Industrial Track | The single way is entered | Commerce City | Needs TIGER review | Many additional spurs off of this. Needs work; seems incomplete. |
Deseret Power Railroad (DPRW)
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Deseret Power Railroad | 8596380![]() |
Moffat & Rio Blanco Counties (Deserado Mine) - Utah Line - Bonanza Power Plant, Utah | Partial | This is a private Class III railroad, not a common carrier. It has no connection to the greater USA rail network. |
Hudson Terminal Railroad (HTR)
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hudson Terminal Railroad | 8642757![]() |
Hudson | TIGER reviewed | A switching railroad offering storage, transloading, railcar painting, similar services on "12 miles of track" (according to its web site). Needs work where it connects to BNSF Brush Subdivision and is likely to be incomplete with the TIGER data that were imported; please improve with complete railway elements. |
JBC Rail Services
While JBC isn't believed to be a common carrier, switching railroad, or known whether it offers rail car storage, it is unclear how to enter into OSM and/or this wiki. Their web site says they have facilities in Alamosa (UP) and Denver (BNSF).
Keenesburg Direct Railroad (KDR)
Appears to be a VERY short line railroad operating around Keenesburg.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Keenesburg Direct Railroad | 8642897![]() |
Keenesburg | No TIGER tags | Please endeavor to verify and correct these very few rail elements as correct. |
Rawhide Short Line (????)
A short industrial spur to serve the Rawhide Energy Station.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rawhide Short Line | 8641891![]() |
Off BNSF Front Range Subdivision, north of Fort Collins | Needs TIGER review | Tagging the member elements owner=Platte River Power Authority seems correct
|
Rock & Rail Railroad (RRRR), Denver Railway Car Company (DRCX)
May be a short line railroad operating around Cañon City, Pueblo and southern Colorado. Believed-correct tagging may be owner=Martin Marietta Materials
. While the quarry activity seems inactive, this is believed used for freight car storage. How far west on TPS?
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Rock & Rail Railroad | 8633632![]() |
Cañon City - Rainbow Stone Company Quarry | Partial | This is confusing, as it is tangled with Tennessee Pass Subdivision (TPS, never officially abandoned by UP). Now, portions of TPS may be used for freight car storage and it isn't known which of two lines of TPS are active. Much tagging to fix here, data are confusing. |
Unknown
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Commanche Power Plant | 8629045![]() |
Pueblo | No TIGER tags | Please fix: not known if this is a Class III or perhaps a private railroad. Member elements are tagged usage=industrial .
|
Niobrara Terminal | The single way is entered | E of Greeley Subdivision at the far north of Colorado (S of Cheyenne, Wyoming) | No TIGER tags | Unit train terminalling (up to 60 railcar trains), transloading trucks to railcars, railcar fleet and freight services. As it services the oil industry with tanker cars, tagged usage=industrial . Believed correct are old_railway_operator=USD Group and owner=Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. . Additional spurs, sidings and yard track look like they could use some work. Fix?
|
Miller-Coors Rail | 8643423![]() |
Golden | No TIGER tags | Might be brewery-company owned, might be owned by BNSF, not sure. |
GCC Cement? | The single way is entered | South of Pueblo | No TIGER tags | Fix? Could simply be a spur off of BNSF's Spanish Peaks Subdivision tagged usage=industrial .
|
Vesta Towers? | The single way is entered | South of Pueblo | No TIGER tags | Fix? Could simply be a spur off of UP's Walsenburg Subdivision tagged usage=industrial .
|
Test
New rail technologies have to be tested somewhere!
Association of American Railroads (TTCI?)
At its "Transportation Technology Center, Inc." (TTCI) the Association of American Railroads has 67 km of track with the rare tag usage=test
. There is a High Tonnage Loop, Impact Track, Precision Test Track, Railroad Test Track, Transit Test Track, Train Dynamics Track and Wheel Rail Mechanism track.
Name and/or Operator | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Association of American Railroads | 8669714![]() |
East of Pueblo | Done | Seems OK |
Passenger trains
Amtrak (passenger=national
) trains serving Colorado (AMTK)
In Colorado, Amtrak® California Zephyr℠ serves Denver (Union Station), Fort Morgan (Sterling), Fraser-Winter Park, Granby (Rocky Mountain National Park), Glenwood Springs (Aspen) and Grand Junction. Amtrak® Southwest Chief® serves Lamar, La Junta, and Trinidad. Served via Amtrak® Thruway bus service are Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Raton, Frisco, Vail, Pine, Fairplay, Buena Vista, Salida, Poncha Springs, Moffat, Gunnison and Alamosa.
Route name | Trains (ref=* )
|
Passenger Service | type=route_master
|
type=route
|
Status and Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
California Zephyr℠ | 5, 6 | national | 905830![]() |
EMY-CHI 8440301![]() CHI-EMY 8440320 ![]() |
EMY-CHI ![]() ![]() CHI-EMY ![]() ![]() route=railway relations look correct, though relation is very large. Platforms, amenities around them need improvement.
|
Southwest Chief® | 3, 4 | national | 4720714![]() |
LAX-CHI 904839![]() CHI-LAX 4720713 ![]() |
CHI-LAX ![]() ![]() LAX-CHI ![]() ![]() |
Try OpenPublicTransportMap (OPTM): it displays passenger rail in route=train
relations. At closer zooms, OPTM also displays route=light_rail
, route=subway
, route=tram
, route=monorail
, route=funicular
, route=bus
, route=trolleybus
, route=aerialway
and route=ferry
with colors similar to ORM. Please compare and contrast ORM (rail infrastructure) and OPTM (passenger routes) with OSM's Transport layer which rather simply displays "any and all rail" (railway=*
), though not disused or abandoned rail, and at closer zooms, route=bus
. Here was another rail renderer which displayed rail-based passenger routes with their colour=*
or color=*
tag (no longer functional).
Colors are Amtrak passenger=national
routes = blue. As both of Colorado's passenger=national
Amtrak routes are lengthy overnight trains, these are assigned darker (web safe) blues: California Zephyr (DarkBlue), Southwest Chief (MediumBlue).
Regional (passenger=regional
) trains (future RMRA?)
Presently, no "regional rail" exists in Colorado (middle-distances of 150 km to 1000 km; shorter than passenger=national
rail but longer than passenger=suburban
"commuter" trains, passenger=urban
light-rail and passenger=local
trams). Sometimes called "intercity." There are long-term plans for a high-speed regional corridor in the Front Range of Colorado, with extensions to neighboring Wyoming and New Mexico, largely driven by a non-profit corporation called "Front Range Commuter Rail" also affiliated with an intergovernmental agreement called the Rocky Mountain Rail Authority (RMRA). The stated goal of these organizations is to have higher- or high-speed commuter-oriented intercity rail at the same time as Denver RTD FasTracks mass transit fully comes on-line (some lines project out as far as 2044). While millions of dollars were raised since 2006 for feasibility studies and over 50 Colorado counties, cities, towns and transit authorities are RMRA members, results of studies proved promising ("positive operating ratio, positive cost-benefit ratio"). However, from over a decade ago; little is known beyond broad generalizations from RMRA's March, 2010 Final Report.
Commuter, City (passenger=suburban
, passenger=urban
) trains (RTDZ)
Denver RTD operates "commuter" route=train
lines: University of Colorado A Line, B Line, G Line and N Line in two phases: Phase 1 Union Station to Eastlake•124th Station (now open) and Phase 2 to North Thornton•Hwy 7 (under construction). Eight route=light_rail
lines operate presently: C Line, D Line, E Line, F Line, H Line, L Line, R Line and W Line. RTD's FasTracks multibillion-dollar public transportation expansion plan include B Line Boulder/Longmont extension, C & D Lines Highlands Ranch extension, G Line Golden extension, E, F, & R Lone Tree extensions and L Line Central Rail extension/loop. See a FasTracks Program Schedule, which plans routes out to 2044.
Develop local consensus whether operator=RTD
is correct on infrastructure elements (track ways) and whether network=RTD
is correct on route=train
and/or route=light_rail
relations. Is RTD globally unique? Is "Denver RTD" a better value for these keys? These values are suggestions, please reach local consensus. "Standardizing" on key:value pairs like name=RTD Light Rail Track 11
can be nice but often such details are not known. Keep potential or actual differing naming conventions to a minimum.
Try a medium-zoom local OpenPublicTransportMap (OPTM) rendering.
Denver RTD Trains (RTDZ)
A passenger "heavy rail" train is tagged
route=train
passenger=suburban
when it is known as "suburban" or "commuter" rail. With these, both route=train
and route=railway
relations are in OSM (the latter is not tagged passenger=suburban
). University of Colorado A Line, B Line, G Line and N Line (Phase 1) are active, entered into OSM and this wiki table. The route=railway
relations are in OSM, though not in a wiki table. That's OK for now (especially as route=light_rail
relations can "stand on their own" as public_transport v1 routes). Whether or not we put the "underlying infrastructure" route=railway
relations into a wiki table here is a matter of preference. The idea is to develop proper route relations (railway, train, light_rail) and document them here simultaneously. RTD's type=network
is 11026506 11026506.
Route | Passenger Service | route_master Relation | operator=*
|
Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
University of Colorado A Line: Denver Union Station -> Denver International Airport; Denver International Airport -> Denver Union Station | Train | 9942719![]() |
RTD | A public_transport:version=2 relation.
|
B Line: Denver Union Station -> Westminster; Westminster -> Denver Union Station | Train | 9942699![]() |
RTD | A public_transport:version=2 relation. There is a proposal to extend to Boulder/Longmont.
|
G Line: Wheat Ridge-Ward -> Denver Union Station; Wheat Ridge-Ward -> Denver Union Station | Train | 9942698![]() |
RTD | A public_transport:version=2 relation. Sometimes known as "Gold Line." There is a proposal to extend to Golden.
|
N Line: Denver Union Station -> Eastlake•124th; Eastlake•124th -> Denver Union Station (Phase 1) | Train | 11004619![]() |
RTD | A public_transport:version=2 relation.
|
N Line: Denver Union Station -> North Thornton•Hwy 7; North Thornton•Hwy 7 -> Denver Union Station (Phase 2) | Train | 14222353![]() |
RTD | Proposed and/or under construction in the real world. When this opens as a Phase 2 extension to the N Line, change track element names as noted in the route=railway , 8644104![]() ![]() |
Denver RTD Light Rail (RTDZ)
A passenger "light rail" (city) train is tagged
route=light_rail
passenger=urban
. These are included in RTD's type=network
11026506 11026506.
Route | Passenger Service | route_master Relation | operator=*
|
Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
C Line: Littleton-Mineral -> Union Station LoDo/Coors Field; Union Station LoDo/Coors Field -> Littleton-Mineral | Light Rail | 9947502![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
D Line: Littleton-Mineral -> 18th-California; 18th-California -> Littleton-Mineral | Light Rail | 9947503![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
E Line: Lincoln -> Union Station LoDo/Coors Field; Union Station LoDo/Coors Field -> Lincoln | Light Rail | 9947507![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
F Line: Lincoln -> 18th-California; 18th-California -> Lincoln | Light Rail | 9947520![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
H Line: Florida -> 18th-California; 18th-California -> Florida | Light Rail | 9947525![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
L Line: 16th-Stout -> 30th-Downing; 30th-Downing -> 16th-Stout | Light Rail | 8668342![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
R Line: Peoria -> Lincoln; Lincoln -> Peoria | Light Rail | 9947529![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
W Line: Jeffco Government Center-Golden -> Union Station LoDo/Coors Field; Union Station LoDo/Coors Field -> Jeffco Government Center-Golden | Light Rail | 9947532![]() |
RTD | public_transport:version=2
|
Historic, heritage, museum, tourism, mining (passenger=local
) trains
This first table contains route=railway
relations.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Broadmoor Pikes Peak Cog Railway | 8609143![]() |
Manitou Springs - Pikes Peak | Complete | A complete route=railway . Tracks are tagged usage=tourism , railway:preserved=yes and are standard gauge. About 14 km of total track.
|
Colorado Railroad Museum | 8643402![]() |
Golden | Looks OK | A complete route=railway . Contains spurs and other service track.
|
Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad | 8653214![]() |
Cripple Creek | No TIGER tags | A complete route=railway . Tags are usage=tourism on the railway relation and railway=preserved (rather than railway=narrow_gauge ) and gauge=610 on the member elements. There is some abandoned track at the end of the line to a vast number of mines and a large quarry.
|
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad | 3814840![]() |
Antonio - Chama, New Mexico | Needs only a final "double-check/complete" TIGER review | Presently, only a complete route=railway ; no route=train s are known enough to boost the entry in the next table to public_transport v1. This is a good start, let's discover any route=train relation(s) we might enter into the table below.
|
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad | 1835092![]() |
Durango - Silverton | Complete | A complete route=railway . Tracks are tagged usage=tourism , railway=preserved , not railway=narrow_gauge , though they are additionally tagged gauge=914 (3 feet).
|
Georgetown Loop Railroad | 1835093![]() |
Durango - Devil's Gate Station, south of Georgetown | No TIGER tags | A complete route=railway . Tracks are tagged usage=tourism , railway=preserved , not railway=narrow_gauge , though they are additionally tagged gauge=914 (3 feet). Coordinate with Argentine Central Railroad Grade Trail (see Railtrail section), as it appears OSM is implying it is OK to hike on the narrow gauge right of way to connect discontiguous segments of the Trail.
|
Idarado Mine Narrow Gauge Railway | 8632995![]() |
About 10 km (as the crow flies) SSE of Telluride, on the "Million Dollar Highway." | This was not entered via TIGER | A complete route=railway . Tracks are tagged railway=narrow_gauge and gauge=610 , though are tagged neither usage=tourism nor railway=preserved as this is not passenger rail. (So, no route=train entry should be in the table below).
|
Platte Valley Trolley | 8642520![]() |
Confluence Park, Denver | Complete | A complete route=railway . Tracks are tagged usage=tourism , railway=preserved . About 2 km total track.
|
Royal Gorge Route Railroad | Relation not defined yet | Cañon City | Unknown | Does not appear to be any information in OSM. This is complex rail area, especially with getting OSM tags accurately entered. Helpful might be w:Royal Gorge Route Railroad. |
This second table contains route=train
relations. Remaining unknown are Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and Rio Grande Scenic Railroad route=train
relations. Known destinations/stations and current online/printed schedules are useful sources as passenger rail routes and platform locations develop in OSM.
In the USA, passenger=local
is sometimes tagged on historic/heritage/museum/tourism/mining route=train
relations. Also, passenger=local
is sometimes seen on, for example, airport-style railway=monorail
or "People Mover" trains (often conductor-less / fully automated) linking airport terminals, rental car areas, long-term parking and correspondences with other transit networks.
Route | Trains | Passenger Service | Relation | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad | No route=train relation(s) is/are known on ![]() |
local | Relation not defined yet | Needs "some" data about train routes here |
Durango & Silverton Historic Train Route | ![]() |
local | 3343191![]() |
A complete v1 route=train relation between Durango - Silverton; nice!
|
Fort Collins Municipal Railway | ![]() |
local | 8653193![]() |
A complete v1 route=tram for almost 3 km in Fort Collins; nice! Also tagged usage=tourism .
|
Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway | Suspended "for the foreseeable future" | local | 6723194![]() |
A "would-be" complete v1 route=train relation for the cog railway between Manitou Springs - Pikes Peak; nice! Unfortunately, as of 2018 passenger rail service seems to be indefinitely suspended "for the foreseeable future," the route=train tag was removed from this relation. So, this is a sort of placeholder until OSM receives more news.
|
Platte Valley Trolley | ![]() |
local | 8652420![]() |
A complete v1 route=tram relation for this trolley; nice!
|
Rio Grande Scenic Railroad | Little is known, except that the route is Alamosa - Fort Garland - Fir - La Veta and that some ![]() |
local | Relation not defined yet | As a subsidiary heritage railroad of SLRG, these trains travel its Alamosa-Walsenburg Alamosa-Antonio Branch rail. What is not known is any route=train data beyond that except trains serve La Veta and Antonio during summer months. See w:Rio_Grande_Scenic_Railroad and help improve this if you can.
|
Greeley's Modern Railroad Museum is at the terminus of GWR's Fort Collins to Greeley branch.
New entries here might include Iron Mountain Tramway and Alpine Slide rail at Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park (north of Glenwood Springs), Lakeside Amusement Park, the Pioneer Train at Denver Zoo and the numerous rail-oriented rides in Denver's Elitch Gardens Theme Park. Depending on similar Colorado rail facilities, create a new section/table for amusement park rail. California has substantial amusement park rail (and similar private rail), California/Railroads/Passenger/Tourism struggles with similar categorization and tagging. Map your best, wiki your best!
Disused Rail
There is a fair amount of rail tagged railway=disused
in Colorado. Try this OT query and help to complete this table!
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Manter District | The single way is entered | West of Springfield | Needs TIGER review | About 21 km of disused/abandoned railway which seem to be abandoned by BNSF. |
Tennessee Pass Subdivision | 1419637![]() |
Segments in Fremont County | Needs TIGER review | Several segments are tagged railway=disused . See also Rock and Rail entry below in Short Line/Industrial as these two railroads blur a bit. And, some segments may technically be in use (even if for rail car storage), this remains unclear in 2018.
|
Towner Line | 8630771![]() |
East from interchanges with UP and BNSF near North Avondale Junction to Towner, exchanging with K&O at Kansas Line? | Needs TIGER review | Many segments are tagged are usage=branch , but may be better tagged without a usage=* tag and more accurately tagged with railway=disused or railway=abandoned
|
Abandoned Rail
There is a substantial amount of rail tagged railway=abandoned
in Colorado. Try this OT query and help to complete these tables! The following list is incomplete; the central portion of the state needs the most attention from results of this query. If you can, please update with better data/tagging and make table entries in this section with either OT query results, the following text-based suggestions, or both.
Around Leadville is an especially rich source of abandoned rail (Frying Pan Road, FSR 33 Boreas Pass Road, Hagerman Pass Road with Carlton Tunnel, Henderson Tunnel, Ivanhoe Lake Road, CR 5, CR 38, CR 48, Mineral Belt Trail, the Mosquito Pass through FairPlay and near Alma, the Rio Grand Trail's access to Aspen — railtrail? — Rocky Mountain Railway from Granby to Lake Granby, South Park Line's Como to Breckenridge and Frisco Spurs, Turquoise Lake Road and an unknown 16+ km segment largely paralleling CO SR 91, among others) which should be added here. Some of this (Leadville Colorado & Southern Railroad) is tagged railway=preserved
and so as active tourist rail goes into the Tourism/Historic/Heritage section rather than here. Further south, find US 285, County Roads 304, 307, 311 371, and "1450" (as railway=abandoned
), too. Much to do!
Not much is known about the abandoned segments east of Kuner, all the way to Julesburg Subdivision (NE of Brush). Please better tag and update the Abandoned table(s) here if you have better knowledge than what is now in OSM.
Southeast of Windsor there is a cluster of (industrial?) spurs that could use better tagging (name, perhaps usage=industrial
, if true). In the USA, this tag is often used on rail which "serves clusters of businesses engaged in light- or heavy-industry in urban industrial zones."
West of Sterling there is substantial abandoned rail almost the whole distance to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Likewise from Laramie, Wyoming southwest to the Arapahoe National Wildlife Refuge.
Atchinson Topeka & Santa Fe (ATSF)
Name | old_railway_operator=*
|
Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A.V. Subdivision | AT&SF | 8657695![]() |
Kornman (end of abandoned Lamar Subdivision) - west to Wiley - gap - Cheraw - Swink (spur to airport) | No TIGER tags | |
Lamar Subdivision | AT&SF | 8657681![]() |
Lamar - north to Kornman | No TIGER tags | |
Pueblo District | AT&SF | The single way is entered | NA Junction - Pueblo Chemical Depot | No TIGER tags | Has two easterly spurs: a sinuous one roughly following Colorado SR 94, the other further south from Franceville Jct. easterly then due NE towards (but not to) Schriever AFB. Note there are at least two "Pueblo Districts" in CB&Q's Abandoned section, one NE of Falcon to Elbert. |
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CBQ)
Name and/or Operator | old_railway_operator=*
|
Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abandoned CB&Q Line | CB&Q | 8659284![]() |
Trinidad | No TIGER tags | Is a better name known? Is part of this actually abandoned D&RGW line? |
Erie Branch | CB&Q | 8676654![]() |
Longmont - Idaho Creek - Erie | Done | Name is speculative. A short segment near GWR's Longmont Crossover looks active, the rest (to Erie) appears abandoned. Might this (if active) be a part of GWR? Needs better name tags. |
Georgetown | CB&Q | The single way is entered | Georgetown - north of Georgetown Lake - becomes "center alignment" of I-70 further north | No TIGER tags | Is a better name known? A FIXME tag describes this as "rough alignment in places," that is putting it kindly. Narrow gauge (3 feet). |
Gray Creek Branch | CB&Q | The single way is entered | Twin Peaks Subdivision east of Trinidad, southwards | No TIGER tags | |
Pueblo District #1 | CB&Q | The single way is entered | Pueblo - Fountain - Colorado Springs | No TIGER tags | Please harmonize naming of "Pueblo District" lines, both CB&Q (abandoned) and BNSF. |
Pueblo District #2 | CB&Q | The single way is entered | NE of Falcon almost 30 km north to Elbert | No TIGER tags | Please harmonize naming of "Pueblo District" lines, both CB&Q (abandoned) and BNSF. |
Lyons Branch | CB&Q | 8656881![]() |
Lyons | Done | FRA says this is active rail, but in 2015 it was tagged railway=abandoned in OSM. Recent imagery suggests railway car storage happens up to at least Highland Drive (is there a buffer stop there) and what looks like a combination of distinctly abandoned line and "now this ROW is a partly paved street in a small town" tagging. Western "extent" might be assumed as Highland Drive; a "storage/abandoned" edge until better data supersede.
|
Loveland West | CB&Q | 8671886![]() |
Loveland Westward to an old quarry | Done | Name is a guess. Is this CB&Q or GWR? |
Trinidad Line | CB&Q | 8605678![]() |
Trinidad | Slightly TIGER reviewed | |
Platte Canon District (or South Park Line?) | CB&Q | 1424244![]() |
Kassler (south of Lockheed Martin) - gap at the Strantia Springs Reservoir - Buffalo Creek - Pine Valley Ranch Park - Bailey - through the northern part of South Park to Como | Largely TIGER reviewed; let's finish it! | An amalgamation of what might be abandoned rail (might not) which is also part road, part equestrian trail, part narrow_gauge, part hiking trail, part closed access, part Main Street, part US Highway 285. Does this include segments from West Elk Wilderness through Gunnison, Forest Service Road 836, Alpine Tunnel, Tunnel Lake Trail 1451, County Road 295 to Alpine easterly to Narrow Gauge Road 1432, County Road 290 and County road 162 to Nathrop? Help! Improvements/better tagging/moving to a better section in this wiki are welcome! |
Rex Quarry Industrial Lead | CB&Q | 8663492![]() |
Fort Collins northwards to Rex Quarry | Needs TIGER review | Name is a guess |
Wellington Lead | CB&Q | The single way is entered | Front Range Subdivision at Wellington W to Waverly | No TIGER tags | Name is a guess. A FIXME tag says "rough alignment" |
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW)
Name and/or Operator | old_railway_operator=*
|
Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crestone Branch | D&RGW | 8657822![]() |
Moffat - Crestone - SE to Cottonwood Creek | Partially TIGER reviewed | Why to the southern end? Where is it, exactly? |
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | D&RGW | 8632759![]() |
Pueblo - furthest westward reaches to Lake Pueblo State Park (old Tennessee Pass Subdivision alignment fork) | Needs partial TIGER review; alignment is mostly good, but could use improvement in spots | May need to be more fully completed with multiple parallel alignments. Is a better name known? |
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | D&RGW | 8630948![]() |
S of Pueblo - near Walsenburg - Crest branch Ludlow - Trinidad | No TIGER tags | Is a better name known? |
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad | D&RGW | The single way is entered | Glenwood Springs - Chakra | No TIGER tags | Is a better name known? |
Lake City Branch | D&RGW | 1429186![]() |
Sapinero - Lake City | Done | |
Monarch Branch | D&RGW | 1425378![]() |
Salida - Poncha Springs - Garfield - Great Monarch Mine | No TIGER tags | |
Orient Branch | D&RGW | 8676630![]() |
Salida to Alamosa (branch) - eastward to Black Canyon Wilderness Study Area (old Orient Mine) | Done | Name came from a single element which was found in TIGER data, the rest were pieced together and inferred to be part of the same railway |
Ouray to Poncha | D&RGW | 1429181![]() |
Ouray Jct. (Montrose) - Gunnison - Poncha Jct. (Poncha Springs) | Done | Name is a guess |
Ridgway Branch / Ouray Branch | D&RGW | 1429183![]() |
Ouray Jct. (Montrose) - Ridgway - Ouray | Partially TIGER reviewed | Name is a guess |
Salida to Alamosa | D&RGW | 1429241![]() |
Salida - Alamosa | No TIGER tags | Name is a guess |
Santa Fe Branch (Chili Line) | D&RGW | 8633096![]() |
South off the end of SLRG's Alamosa-Antonio spur. | Slightly TIGER reviewed | Several miles/km south to the New Mexico Line, the abandoned rail line continues 83.4 km (>50 miles) into New Mexico, largely paralleling highway US 285 into the southern Carson National Forest. Believed to be a D&RGW narrow-gauge rail that went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. |
US 160 | D&RGW | 8657844![]() |
Walsenburg Subdivision | Needs TIGER review | Virtually nothing is known about this line; please add data here or tags in OSM if you know them. |
Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS)
Name and/or Operator | old_railway_operator=*
|
Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rio Grande Southern Railroad | Rio Grande Southern Railroad | 8658026![]() |
Navajo State Park (Navajo Lake) - Durango - Chama, New Mexico | Partially TIGER reviewed | Virtually nothing is known about this line; please add data here or tags in OSM if you know them. |
Rio Grande Southern Railroad | Rio Grande Southern Railroad | The single way is entered | Ridgway - westward crossing Pleasant Valley Creek, then southward to meet SH 62 | No TIGER tags | Virtually nothing is known about this line; please add data here or tags in OSM if you know them. There is a .edu web link on the way, perhaps this was a research project. |
Union Pacific (UP)
Name | old_railway_operator=*
|
Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boulder Industrial Lead (abandoned) | Union Pacific | 8669346![]() |
East of Boulder eastwards to St. Vrain | No TIGER tags | Difficult to determine whether this is disused or abandoned (some aerial photos show railcars, storage?) From TIGER tags appears to have been a UP line. Please improve with better tagging, if known. |
Firestone-St. Vrain Trail Alignment | Union Pacific | 8671920![]() |
From Metro North's proposed northward extension terminus at St. Vrain to the Fort Collins Subdivision and La Salle Branch wye at Milliken | Lightly TIGER reviewed | Name is speculative. From TIGER tags, appears to have been a UP line. Please improve with better tagging, if known. Part of this is existing railtrail, hence the derived name. |
Unknown/Other (CM, CRIP, CW, SSLV, others)
Name and/or Operator | old_railway_operator=*
|
Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Colorado Midland Railroad | CM | 1424267![]() |
Manitou Springs - Glenwood Springs - New Castle | Slightly TIGER reviewed | |
Colorado & Wyoming Railway | CW | 8596321![]() |
Trinidad - west to near Stonewall | Incomplete | |
Engleville Branch | ? | The single way is entered | Engleville Junction - Engleville Road | No TIGER tags | Described as having "rough alignment." Please improve if you can. |
Moffat Road | Denver & Salt Lake Railway? | 4275110![]() |
Tolland - Winter Park | Somewhat TIGER reviewed | A complex, mountainous, sinuous collection of abandoned rail elements superseded by Moffat Tunnel. Sometimes known as (including or part of) Rollins Pass. |
San Acacio Spur? | Southern San Luis Valley Railroad (SSLV) | 8657802![]() |
From Walsenburg Subdivision at Blanca south to the eastern edge of San Acacia to New Mexico Line | Fully TIGER reviewed | Virtually nothing is known about this line; please add data here or tags in OSM if you know them. Name is speculative. |
Uintah Railway | ? | 8659238![]() |
Mack (Green River Subdivision) - NNW to Utah Line | Unknown | Shares "4 Road" for a while, largely parallels Garfield County Road 25, then slips into Utah's Uintah County |
? | Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (CRIP) | 8657787![]() |
E of Colorado Springs - Falcon - Peyton - Limon | No TIGER tags | Most of this is "Rock Island Regional Trail" (railtrail). |
Military Rail
There is a limited amount of "US Government Railroad" in Colorado, though it isn't known if it is active, disused or abandoned. Try this OT query, which currently returns limited results of (possibly disused or abandoned) military rail.
Railtrails
A railtrail uses a former railroad right-of-way (ROW) for equestrian, bicycle or hiking paths, preserving the ROW for possible future re-use as a railway while providing a useful service in the meantime. These are often tagged highway=cycleway
or highway=footway
depending on whether they prefer or allow bicycle or pedestrian traffic. It is OK to tag both railway=abandoned
and highway=cycleway
if it is the case that an abandoned railway became a railtrail (for bicycle use, for example). Where a (multi-use) pathway is designated for pedestrians but also allows bicycles, tag highway=footway
and bicycle=yes
.
Clearly, this is an early Railtrails table. It needs more work and to be more fully statewide due to lack of local knowledge of Colorado's railtrails. For example, see CRIP above in the Abandoned section and discover that Rock Island Regional Trail is a result from CRIP's abandonment, so enter the railtrail here. Similarly with Fort Collins' Mason Trail and the Firestone/St. Vrain Alignment north of Denver.
Fort Collins has at least two MAX (highway=bus_guideway
) ROWs, these emerge in rail wikis as "Transitways" sections. As many of these are existing (parallel) and/or abandoned rail ROW, consider finding these in Colorado (here is an OT query to do so), then include them in a new Transitway section of this wiki.
Name | Relation | Route | TIGER Review | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Argentine Central Railroad Grade Trail | 8656483![]() |
Silver Plume, southward | Needs TIGER review | A local hiking route network=lhn with all elements completely tagged railway=abandoned . Not clear if from "Argentine" (old railroad?) or from old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ROW. Needs work as it has elements which apppear to have become roads; please check. Also, coordinate with Georgetown Loop Railroad (in Tourism section).
|
Arkansas River Multi-Use Path | 8632807![]() |
Pueblo State Park | No TIGER tags | Partly tagged railway=abandoned from old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ROW.
|
Great Western Trail | 3012088![]() |
North of Window - Severance | Needs TIGER review | Partly gravel, partly dirt, partly paved. Needs work. |
Yards
It would be very kind for more OSM volunteers to build up this statewide "Yards" table (stub) with status on every single Colorado rail yard. It is incomplete as there are dozens of rail yards in Colorado. Here is an OT query to help get started.
Name | Railroad(s) | Area | Subdivision(s) Served | TIGER Review | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
31st Street | Unknown | Denver | Unknown | Unknown | Simply a stub entry |
Burnham | Unknown | Denver | Unknown | Unknown | Simply a stub entry |
North Denver | Union Pacific (, BNSF?) | Denver | Moffat Tunnel, Colorado Springs, BNSF Front Range | Unknown | Good coverage as it appears in Bing, but certainly needs review since the import of these data. |
Rennick | Unknown | Denver | Unknown | Unknown | Simply a stub entry |
South Side | Unknown | Denver | Unknown | Unknown | Simply a stub entry |
Color semantics
About (status) colors in TIGER Review, Route, Name columns
Green means that the route's (TIGER) data highly approach or are fully OSM-reviewed. This strongly implies other relation attributes are correct, but this isn't always strictly true; see Notes/Status column. Green does not conflict with active public_transport:version=*
v1-v2 growth. Go!
Yellow means "only partially reviewed" ; additional volunteer work is needed to enter or correct additional route data (railway and/or train) into OSM. Yellow may also mean a route has a volunteer entering data, yet route ambiguities persist about what is actually correct. TIGER review is an early priority (do first or now), and tiger_reviewed=no
tag should be deleted now when true or superseded by newer, better data.
Red means "something" (often very little) is known about the route (or yard), so it is useful to put a row in the table about it as a placeholder, but it is early in creating a route relation: route data attributes are unknown or significantly missing/incomplete and need work.
About (branding) colors in Passenger Service columns
For route=train
, route=subway
, route=light_rail
, route=tram
web-displayed colors are intended to reflect real-world colors denoted by the transportation authority network, such as in printed, painted or otherwise visually branded materials directly associated with a particular route. For the Amtrak routes, a goal is towards more state/national agreement/completion. An initial example is that for Amtrak Cascades service in Washington state and Oregon, OSM's Amtrak wiki table and Mapzen's former transit-colours renderer (no longer functional) both display a closely matching shade of green, which in turn (by intention) better match livery of rolling stock found only on those tracks by that line and class of service. Similar early harmony among Amtrak and California/Railroads is underway, e.g. Capitol Corridor as orange, color of California poppy, the state flower and Pacific Surfliner as ocean blue. Color harmony, in motion.
About the colors and symbols in Amtrak® routes Status and Notes column
Color and symbol legend: status of each route is indicated by a symbol, which describes the type of feature, and a color, which indicates the completeness of that feature in OSM. For more details, see Wiki Help. Meaning of symbols:
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
![]() |
Route status |
![]() |
Stops status |
"Bus stops" in this context (using "State Route Legend" syntax) means "Amtrak® stops." The visual symbols are concise, and while originally designed for bus stops, also work well for train routes.
The codes 0-4 are a logical progression, but they do not all have to be used in sequence. It is perfectly acceptable to go from 0 (nothing on map) to 3 (everything done in opinion of one editor). However, there should never be a jump to level 4. r=4 should only appear after r=3, and the same with h=3 & h=4, as this implies the relation has been checked by both the editor who completed it (level 3), and a second editor (level 4). Given these are different people, a jump up to level 4 from anything other than 3 is not possible.
In this wiki, this symbology is used as relations indicate where public_transport:version=1
is becoming version 2. The route_master column will eventually be fully populated with v2 relations as v1 routes upgrade to v2, the type=route_master
column data acting as "entry point" into these Amtrak routes, the type=route
column linking to "directional" child relations.