News
Please call the Trolley office at 303-458-6255 if you have any questions. After hours, a recorded message plays with Schedules & Fares.Regional Transportation District celebrates first FasTracks construction-related activity
According to the RTD, the first sign of progress on the FasTracks transit expansion program was kicked off on May 16 to start what will be a decade of construction of the nation’s largest transit expansion program.At a special event in Lakewood, RTD conducted a ceremonial event that symbolically began the removal of the old Denver & Intermountain Railroad - Associated Railroad track along the West Corridor.
Track removal began at 13th Avenue and Quail Street and will move east, taking approximately four months. The line which was the site of the ceremony was actually a spur line built in 1941 to serve the then newly built Remington Arms plant, leaving the main line to Golden at Quail St. Even though the Denver & Intermountain Railroad was electrically operated, this line was served with diesels as the electric power was thought to be to weak to handle the long trains which were expected.
After the D&IM line to Golden was abandoned in 1950, there was enough freight business to allow the track to what was the called the Federal Center to retained by the railroads serving Denver. Both the D&RGW and the CB&Q, now the BNSF operated over the line until about 1985. The track was then acquired by RTD for future use.
The 12.1-mile West Corridor light rail project will operate between the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver and the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden; serving Denver, Lakewood, the Denver Federal Center, Golden and Jefferson County. The corridor is scheduled to open to the public in 2013.
Tom Payton and Darrell Arndt staffed a table with lots of information on both the Platte Valley Trolley and D&IM. We received a lot of attention and, hopefully made lots of new friends. Keith Dameron was recognized by RTD General Manager Cal Marsella for his efforts in connection with FasTracks.
Tom Payton staffs our display table while Darrell Arndt explains the Transit Museum concept.
RTD executives, board members and invited guests prepare to pull some spikes from Federal Center spur. Later on, equipped with gloves and hard hats, they readied themselves to “rip up some track”.
Two of our operators chatting with Bill Clarke of Channel 7 during the taping of a segment about our trolley
Our "15 minutes of fame" as two of our operators stand by with the trolley at REI during a taping by Channel 7