(The Associated Press circulated the following article on January 23.)
WINTER PARK, Colo. — About 700 skiers who took the popular Ski Train from Denver to the Winter Park ski resort Saturday were stranded for a few hours without transportation home after a 15-car, Union Pacific coal train derailed near Rollinsville.
Passengers found their own rides or waited for buses to arrive from Denver to take them down the mountain, Ski Train spokesman Dan Christopherson said.
Passengers were able to get their belongings off the train before departing for Denver, he said. Ski Train was refunding passengers’ fares.
The derailment also forced Amtrak to detour its California Zephyr train, which runs from Emeryville, Calif., to Chicago through Wyoming, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said. Passengers headed to Granby, Glenwood Springs, Winter Park and Grand Junction, among other Colorado destinations, were to be bused in from Wyoming.
A message left with Union Pacific was not immediately returned.
Since cleanup was expected to take about 24 hours, the Sunday Ski Train was canceled.