Nowadays it is not an every day event to see an operating steam locomotive. Therefore, today I was extremely lucky to witness not just one but two engines pulling trains under their own power. For that reason this post features two pictures of the day. The header for this post shows UP844, one of the largest steam engines operating these days. It had the UP “Rio Grande” heritage unit 1989 as well as the beautiful UP excursion consist in tow. I watched the special at Speer, WY heading for Cheyenne to participate in the Frontier Days celebrations.

Later in the afternoon I stopped by the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, CO. There they do not only have an awesome collection of rolling stock, including lots of narrow gauge equipment but also operate steam trains on the track circling the museum every day throughout summer. Today 491, a Denver and Rio Grande K-37 Mikado type, narrow gauge steam engine, was in charge as shown in the second photo of the day.