Project Updates

What a day at our depot, where our new locomotive and snowblower were delivered and lowered onto our track! This month alone our first coaches arrived after a 5,000+ mile journey from Switzerland to Manitou Springs!

We’re really starting to imagine these 47.2-inch-diameter cutting reels blowing snow 50 to 100 feet off the line! Final Inspection at the Zaugg Facility in Switzerland is complete.

We never cease to be amazed by the progress of our crew! Things have been very busy here at the Cog this fall as the Stacy and Witbeck construction crews continued moving down the mountain with track building and reached the depot area after Thanksgiving. In October, we enjoyed a visit from our Swiss project team at Stadler to discuss final details of the assembly of our new locomotives and coaches.

It was Christmas in July at the Cog! We received the first pictures of our new snow blower in the pre-assembly phase at the Zaugg facility in Eggiwil, Switzerland. This new piece of equipment will allow us to cut through snow drifts up to 14’ tall and clear a path for our trains to the summit.

Track crews continued working their way down the mountain after finishing installing the first siding at Windy Point. Crews are now working down the Big Hill, our longest, steepest, narrowest portion of track. While it poses challenges, our crews are prepared!

Track work has continued, working downhill from the summit, where we started in May. The Stacy and Witbeck crews fine-tuned the track building process and achieved a project best to date of 720 feet built on June 18. The crews reached Windy Point siding on June 24, marking the 25% complete point.

The first new rails of the Manitou & Pikes Peak Railway were laid May 13! Track construction crews from Stacy and Witbeck spent the remainder of the month fine tuning the building process and were making steady progress by the end of the month. We also received the first photos of our new trains in production from Stadler’s facility in Bussnang, Switzerland.