August 1st, 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of Colorado’s statehood. The Colorado Railroad Museum debuted its Creating Colorado by Rail: 150+ Years of Mining, Agriculture, and Tourism, exhibit in April of 2026. In April, this blog post featured some of the history of agriculture and the railroads in Colorado in the form of sugar beets! This month, we are featuring a classic Colorado activity—skiing, accompanied by a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon. With how hot this summer has been in Colorado, we are hoping we can conjure cooler days with a wintery sport!
Figure 1 The Colorado Railroad Museum’s Creating Colorado By Rail exhibit, tourism case, opened April 2026.
Before we dive into the history of Colorado’s Ski Train, let’s discuss the origin of this sport. Skiing dates back into prehistoric times as a method of transportation over snow. While the 19th century saw the emergence of skiing in Europe as a recreational activity, in the 1800s skiing in Colorado was born of that same need for transportation. As Anglo settlers first arrived in Colorado and went into the mountains in search of a livelihood, they had to contend with extreme winter conditions. The snow made traveling over the mountains difficult, and skiing became a solution to this problem. Some of the most notable early skiers in Colorado were a group of mailmen traveling between towns across remote mountain passes on their homemade skis.
Figure 2 Mail carrier on skis, photo courtesy Colorado Ski and Snowboard Museum.
Over time, skiing in Colorado developed into a major recreational activity and areas dedicated to this sport cropped up in the mountains. In January of 1940 the Winter Park Resort opened, becoming the first major ski area in the state. Winter Park has a rich railroad history, first used as a construction camp for the Moffat Tunnel. As early as 1929, skiers were using the railroad as a mode of transportation to access this skiing area.
Figure 3 A group of women skiers in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, 1916-1923. Photo courtesy Denver Public Library Western History Collection.
The same year Winter Park Resort opened, the Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Ski Train began offering seasonal, scheduled passenger service directly to the resort from Union Station in Denver. The journey was a scenic one, offering sweeping views of the Continental Divide while passengers were warm in their train cars. Dining options, however, were limited in Winter Park and food was not served aboard the Ski Train. Early passengers had to pack lunches for their days or dine in limited restaurants nearby.
As time went on and the area became more developed, more dining options emerged for passengers. West Portal Station, at the base of Winter Park, opened for the 1981-1982 season. Described by Sky-Hi News in a restaurant guide published in 1985 as “tasty, fast and convenient,” West Portal Station offered cafeteria style dining breakfast and lunch “for those skiing enthousiasts (sic) who don’t want to miss a minute of good snow….”
Figure 4 Sky-Hi News clipping, 1985 featuring West Portal Station dining options.
In the Colorado Railroad Museum’s collection are two of the locomotives that powered the Ski Train to Winter Park in 1984. Denver & Rio Grande Western streamlined F9 diesels Nos. 5771 and 5762 took passengers to Winter Park and back every weekend. You can see these engines proudly displayed at the Museum, sporting fresh paint job and lettering. The Ski Train officially ended service in 2009, but in 2017 Amtrak revived the route as the Winter Park Express.
Figure 5 Engines 5771 & 5762 on display at the Colorado Railroad Museum.
We hope you enjoyed our brief history of skiing and the Ski Train in Colorado. Today’s recipes come from both the Rocky Mountain Cook Book and the Union Pacific Dining Car Cook Book and Service Instructions. We hope you stay cool for the remainder of the summer!
Rocky Mountain Cook Book
Scrambled Eggs
Beat the eggs lightly, just enough to mix them. To each egg add two tablespoonfuls of milk, or half milk and half cream, a little salt and pepper. Put in a sauce pan a tablespoonful of butter; when it bubbles add the eggs and stir constantly until they set. They should be just a little firm, but not hard. They can be mixed with chopped meats, chives, tomato that has been cooked, parsley, or anything that one has, to give a good flavor.
Bacon
Slice very thin, remove the rind, place in a hot frying pan. Cook until crisp. Drain on soft paper.
Union Pacific Dining Car Cook Book and Service Instructions
Scrambled Eggs, Plain:
Two to portion; should be whipped lightly and scrambled in egg pan with half lard and half butter mixture. Serve in hot buttered shirred egg dish on tea plate, with hot dinner plate for service. Garnish with one triangle of hot toast, cut in two pieces and a sprig of parsley. Butter service to accompany.
Bacon
Bacon should be broiled at all times unless guest specifically orders fried bacon. It should be freshly broiled from the raw state.
