Rail owner wants Wolf Creek track *LINK*

Saturday, December 2nd 2006
By Joe Hanel | Journal Denver Bureau
The owner of the railroad tracks in the San Luis Valley is studying extending the line up to the Wolf Creek Ski Area.
Ed Ellis said he expects a report from his consultants this year. “Trains are the all-weather mode. It would be nice to have year-round access to Wolf Creek,” Ellis said.
Ellis said he’s at the beginning stages of his idea and wants to see if people are interested. “You know Wolf Creek Pass. It would obviously be an expensive project,” he said.
Last year, Ellis started the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, which runs from Alamosa to Blanca. He wants to expand it and hopes it can do for the town of La Veta what the Durango-Silverton train has done for Silverton.
Ellis is leasing the tracks in Rio Grande County to a Chicago company to store old flat cars. He plans to use the money to fix the tracks west of Alamosa so his Rio Grande trains can take tourists to South Fork. If all his plans come to fruition, passengers could ride a train for more than 100 miles across the San Luis Valley, from La Veta Pass to Wolf Creek Pass.
About 10,000 people rode the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad in its first year, Ellis said.
The narrow-gauge tracks from South Fork to Creede are owned by Don Shank, Ellis’ partner in the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad.
Shank’s plans to run a passenger train to Creede four years ago stalled after some Creede residents objected.
Ellis is not working with the developers of the controversial Village at Wolf Creek, a proposed resort town, he said.