WINTER PARK — It takes about two hours for the Ski Train to snake its way northwest from the bustle of Lower Downtown to the snowy wonderland of Winter Park Resort, 56 railway miles away. That’s about the same amount of time it takes to drive the 67 miles from LoDo to Winter Park, via Berthoud Pass. But just a fraction of the headache.
“Easy-breezy,” says Mark Woods of Lakewood, an occasional Ski Train traveler. “It’s just a casual way to hit the slopes if you’re planning to go to Winter Park.”
When the fully loaded Ski Train rolls out of Union Station on Saturday at 7:15 a.m., it will mark the 69th year of train service to the ski area at the west portal of the Moffat Tunnel. In December 1939, the first skiers arrived by train, and thanks to the modern Ski Train, they continue to today.
During the train’s first three decades, the Eskimo Ski Club — one of Colorado’s oldest — made up the bulk of travelers riding in vintage 1915 steam-heated passenger cars. It wasn’t until 1988 that Denver- based Ansco Investment Company acquired the train and replaced the worn-out railcars with the contemporary comforts that riders recognize as the current Ski Train.
Now, some 14 cars — plus a trio of private luxury cars for charter — carry up to 750 people to the slopeside dropoff 42 times a year, starting Saturday until March 29. The popular alternative to weekend highway traffic (Friday service begins Feb. 6, and Thursdays are added Feb. 19) fills up about 90 percent of the time, according to Ski Train president and general manager Jim Bain.
Car hosts load and unload ski equipment and offer assistance throughout the trip. Two cafe-lounge cars sell breakfast food and après-ski beverages for coach-class travelers. More spacious club cars offer an extra level of service that includes continental breakfast, afternoon snacks and beverages. Passengers truly travel in comfort and style.
Yet, even with fares ranging from $49-$85, Bain says the train has never made money, mostly due to the expense of renting the rails owned by Union Pacific and high insurance costs.
“It’s essentially a labor of love,” Bain said.
Bain is a train fan, for sure, until the topic of rail service to ski areas along the Interstate 70 corridor comes up, that is. He’s among the skeptics who view recent discussions of everything from conventional diesel to high-speed magnetic levitation trains as technologically and economically impractical.
“The technology just isn’t there yet,” Bain said. “The reality is that it will be very expensive, and we will all wind up paying for it in the end.”
Meanwhile, the Ski Train endures.
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