In May, 2016 we visited Manitou Springs and rode the Manitou Springs & Pikes Peak Railway. I had ridden before when I was a child and have pretty much no memory of it other than I rode it. Now was my chance to ride it for the very first time … again!
But First, History!
I feel that history is always part of the fun of our explorations. The fact is, I can’t get enough of history from the places we go … as long as I’m not reading a dry textbook about it – so I promise to do my best to make this fun.
Pike’s Peak
The mountain was discovered by the Spanish in the 1700’s. Upon hearing this news, one Native American reacted to this news with a nonchalant “Oh really?”
Pike’s Peak gets its name from Zebulon Pike, the leader of the Pike Expedition in 1806 that was sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase. Jefferson obviously didn’t have much faith in Pike’s survival as he sent Lewis and Clark in the same direction a month later.
Zebulon Pike is credited as the first American to discover the mountain. He also attempted but failed to climb to the top in November, 1806. Fourteen years later, Edwin James would be the first American to club to the top of the mountain.
The Manitou Springs & Pikes Peak Railway
The Manitou Springs & Pikes Peak Railway itself was created by Zalmon G. Simmons, inventor and creator of the Simmons Beautyrest mattress company. The railway company was formed in 1889 and began service in June 1891.
The original steam engines were from the Baldwin Locomotive Works and serviced the rails until 1938 when gasoline engines started appearing.
Spencer Penrose purchased the railway in 1925 making it property of the Broadmore Hotel. I had to search a bit harder for this as it is not included in the Wikipedia article.
In 1939, General Electric diesel were put into use for the next twenty- five years, when GE decided they would not provide any more specialized equipment for the railway.
In 1964, the railway found a new company to partner with. The Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works have provided every engine since – many of which are still in service.
Recent History
In October 2017, the railway closed doors for maintenance and in March 2018 announced it would not be reopening.
The Wikipedia article on this has a different accounts of this event as I do. I don’t remember why I had seen the news, but the article I read stated that they could not afford to perform the main tante and were planning on just shutting it down.
In fact, on our ride up the mountain they told us they were struggling to find funds for the maintenance.
Saving the Railway
The Manitou Springs city councilman approved funding to perform the maintenance and get the trains running again.
When the railway reopens in 2021 (if all goes to schedule) it will be running on all new tracks, a remodeled base station, all cars remaining in service will be refurbished and three new cars will replace some that are being retired.
At the top of Pike’s Peak, a new complex is being built next to the Summit House. This new facility will replace the Summit House once it is completed.
Stappcation Rides the Railway (2016)
I am scared of heights and have gotten much worse of the past several years. I was a little bit nervous about the ride to the top. The last time we went up in the St. Louis Arch, I grabbed onto a handrail next to the tram and could not pry that hand off the rail.
This was firm ground however, and didn’t affect me much. I’m really not sure what it is that paralyzes me except something about heights. This trip, however, we had a bout with altitude sickness. I got it a little bit but Emma obviously did not feel well.
We took the first train available at 8am and luckily got the three seat side. The two seat side had lovely views of one waterfall and snow, rocks and the side of the mountain going up and down. The three seat side had views of pretty much everything – other mountains, trees, wildlife etc.
The peak was cold. Gloves would have been nice but after sucking down a Dr. Pepper, a bathroom was the only need on my list. After walking all the way around the building to fulfill that need, we had our picture taken by the sign (it’s on the big camera) and ran back inside for donuts. Side note: we don’t usually eat donuts this much – I might be done with them for a few weeks.
Since the peak was in a pretty thick cloud the entire time we were there, we spent a lot of our hour inside shopping and dealing with Emma’s altitude sickness. Ounce we were below the treelike again she was perking back up. The first thing she noticed was the mountain across from us that seemed to have the word “LOVE” written on it.
Our train made one stop to let some hikers out. The politician in our group quickly made friends and got a good restaurant recommendation, which we took them up on.
Why Not Drive?
While there is a road to travel to the top of Pike’s Peak, we are always looking for the great family experiences during our vacations.
The train allowed me to join in the excitement of the trip up the mountain. I didn’t have to pay more attention to the road than looking at the amazing scenery around me.
It also allowed me to escape the worry of going off the road and rolling the minivan 14,000 feet down the mountain.
Perhaps, next time we will drive the road.