On Saturday, we got a sneak peek of RTD Denver’s newest project, the West Rail Line, which will officially open April 26, 2013.  This train lover’s event was sponsored in part by the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO:  www.coloradorailroadmuseum.org.  Tickets for the preview were sold by the museum…luckily, we were able to buy two tickets before the two trains sold out.

The morning of the ride, Charles Albi (Colorado Railroad Museum) and Kevin Flynn (RTD Public Information Manager, P3 Project) provided a presentation regarding Denver’s train history and the history of the city and people encompassing the 12.1 miles of rail.  “Much of this route was started in 1891 as the Denver, Lakewood & Golden Railroad and continued as the Denver and Intermountain until 1953.”  This section of rail line had originally closed to passengers in 1950, however RTD retained the right of way of the rail line, which is the same route used by the W Line today.  (In attendance at the morning’s presentation was someone who had actually been a passenger of the last train in 1950.)  Thanks to our 20x zoom, we are able to share this great presentation with you:

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Seated on the train, we were lucky enough to sit next to a local train expert who is a volunteer with the Platte Valley Trolley.  He was able to answer our train questions and provided us with lots of extra facts.  The majority of the line runs parallel to Denver’s 6th Avenue, which connects Golden and Denver.  Our W Line preview started and ended at the Jefferson County Government Center in Golden with the turn around point at the Decatur/Federal Station.  Unfortunately, there was construction in progress, so were not able to make it all the way to the final stop – Union Station.

Hey Denverites! In celebration of the opening of the West Rail Line, enjoy FREE rides on the W Line on Friday, April 26. Continue the party on Saturday, April 27 with FREE rides on ALL  light rail lines all day!  Save the Earth, ditch your car for the day and explore your city.