New trainsets and a new snow blower for the Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway in Colorado have begun their journey from Switzerland. The Stadler equipment, along with a snow blower built by Zaugg at its Eggiwil, Switzerland, factory, was taken by truck from Stadler’s factory in Erlen, Swtizerland, to Basel, where they will be loaded onto a barge for a trip up the Rhine to Rotterdam, Netherlands. From there, they will travel by ship to the U.S. and by truck to Colorado.
The new locomotive-hauled trains are part of a $100 million rebuild of the 8.9-mile railway, which has included a change of its cog system [see “Pikes Peak railway provides first look …,” Trains News Wire, Sept. 24, 2020]. The snow blower will be capable of cutting through drifts up to 10 feet tall and 20 feet wide [see “Pikes Peak Railway getting new snow blower,” News Wire, Nov. 23, 2020]. The railroad remains on schedule to reopen in May.
