Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 6013, an Alco PA, leading the Yampa Valley Mail at Denver, CO. Photo by Mac Owen Collection.
(Audio-Visual Designs, Earlton, NY, Public domain, via W. Lenheim Collection)
YAMPA VALLEY MAIL
The Yampa Valley Mail (later Yampa Valley), Trains Nos. 9 and 10, was a named passenger train operated by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW) between Denver, Colorado and Craig, Colorado, a distance of 231.4 miles. Train No. 9 would leave Denver at 9:05 am and arrive in Craig at 4:20 pm. Train No. 10 would leave Craig at 8:05 am and arrive in Denver at 3:20 pm. Major stops included Winter Park, Granby, Orestod (Bond), Steamboat Springs, and Hayden. Average travel time was 7 hours and 15 minutes.
The Yampa Valley Mail pulled by Alco PA 6013 during a late winter snow storm at Winter Park, CO, March 1962. Photo by Ken Crist.
(Audio-Visual Designs, Earlton, NY, Public domain, via W. Lenheim Collection)
Origin
The train had it's beginnings as Denver & Salt Lake's (D&SL) daylight and overnight trains. In 1951, daytime local trains and a tri-weekly nighttime mixed train with a coach-sleeper between Denver and Craig were discontinued, and replaced by overnight service only.
In September of 1954, daily daylight service trains returned as No. 9 and No. 10, and given the name Yampa Valley Mail.
In 1963, the train's name was shortened to Yampa Valley when the U.S. Post Office terminated the train's mail contract. Later versions of the train featured Vista Dome cars. The train ran until 1968 when it was discontinued by the DRGW.
The westbound Yampa Valley has just exited Tunnel No. 1, one mile east of Plainview, CO, September 12, 1967.
(Photo by Roger Puta, Courtesy Marty Bernard, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)