Rock and Rail LLC
Rock and Rail (reporting mark RRRR) is a short line railroad operating in southern Colorado that is a subsidiary of Martin Marietta Materials.[1] The railroad began in 1998, using track originally built by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad that was disused after their merger with the Union Pacific Railroad (UP). The track operated by Rock and Rail between Parkdale and Cañon City is still owned by the UP, while the track between Pueblo and Cañon City was purchased from the UP. The tourist line Cañon City and Royal Gorge Railroad operates on the RRRR's track.
This section of the line was once the mainline of the Denver & Rio Grande Western's Tennessee Pass route. The bulk of this line has been dormant since the merger of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the Union Pacific. The UP once applied with Surface Transportation Board to abandon the line, however; In recent years the UP has been storing hopper cars on the track west of Parkdale, and no longer seeks to formally abandon the line.
Rock & Rail is the operating partner through the Royal Gorge with the CCRGRR being the tourist RR. At its inception RRRR only operated one line, until obtaining operating rights to continue into Pueblo, Colorado.
Rock and Rail was originally formed to transport rock from a quarry site in Missouri to the UPRR. It held a right-of-way for years until the Tennessee Pass Line was informally abandoned by the UPRR. At that time INAP, a corporation owned by Bill Fehr, purchased 11.23 miles (18.07 km) of line with the Georgetown Loop RR and transferred the 50% of that line through the Royal Gorge to Rock and Rail, making RRRR the common carrier freight line through the Royal Gorge.
References
- "Rock and Rail, LLC". Rock and Rail, LLC. Retrieved June 22, 2017.