Meet our Crew
If you want to ensure that your business grows successfully, the saying goes to look for people smarter than you are, and get their help! That’s what we did and are fortunate having the help of a talented full-time staff, capable of keeping the Royal Gorge Route “on track” and meeting guest expectations throughout the year.
Carrying over 100,000 passengers safely through the Royal Gorge each year isn’t an easy task as this train is really a "moving city on train tracks" complete with multiple restaurants, water and wastewater, a power grid, heating and cooling, and yes, just a little bit of magic thrown into the mix. Meet the people responsible for your memorable experience on board the Royal Gorge RouteRailroad:
Steve Kaverman, General Manager
Steve Kaverman is the Royal Gorge Route Railroad general manager. Steve grew up with 14 siblings and has 30 years of management experience with 13 in the tourism trade; we’re convinced both prepared him well for his role at the Royal Gorge Route. He also has ridden his fair share of scenic trains around the world and spent ten years leading tours and operations with the American Orient Express and its two successors. He’s an excellent cook, has a penchant for chocolate, and spends every free minute he has outside visiting the great national parks of America and cities around the globe. Steve believes he has the best job in the business: leading a talented team in providing world-class service to 100,000 people each year in one of the most stunning locations in America.
Glenn Hayes, Assistant GM
Whenever you turn around, Glenn is there. Literally. From kitchen to coach – engine room to depot, Glenn is omnipresent – making sure it all works like a fine Swiss watch. It seems that’s exactly what it takes to create a leisurely, delicious adventure through one of Colorado’s most stunning landscapes for more than 100,000 guests every year. His penchant for hospitality derives from his childhood in Louisiana. This begs an important question: Why hasn’t Glenn cooked up some authentic gumbo for all of us westerners yet? Glenn?
Norma, Gift Shop Manager
A ride on the Royal Gorge Route will be the absolute highlight of your trip to the Royal Gorge. However, we must admit, a trip into the Santa Fe Depot train and toy store is a close second. Norma is passionate about creating an exciting and child-like experience. She’s an expert buyer and merchandiser who spends her days delighting shoppers with toys and gifts to commemorate their visit or simply add to their personal collections. This job is a labor of love for Norma, so much so we’re pretty sure she would do it for free. While it’s tempting to revoke her paycheck, we plan to continue compensating her since she does drive a scenic hour each way to get here each and every day.
Jennifer, Human Resource
When accounting needs to be done, leave it to Jennifer. She handles the dollars and cents around here, but she also hires and trains our most-excellent staff and does whatever else needs doing. Jennifer loves the view from the train, and she loves meeting passengers from all over the world who have never seen something as breathtaking as the Royal Gorge. When she’s not counting quarters at the Santa Fe Depot, she camps – old-school style, with her dog, her sons and a gaggle of friends.
Jeremy, Executive Chef
While Jeremy’s first claim to fame was teaching himself to juggle apples while riding a unicycle at the tender age of 12, today he is a master in the kitchen. As the Royal Gorge Route’s executive chef, Jeremy develops our menus and procures local and seasonal ingredients to make our Colorado-inspired multi-course meals. When he’s not fishing and hiking with his family, you’ll find him cooking in our railcar kitchen, where he grills, sautés, simmers and creates super-cool presentations of his dishes for our guests from around the world.
Dona, Sales Manager
Dona is a twin with twins, which makes her an excellent sales manager because she frequently needs to be in two places at once. She joined us in 2001, and you know what? The place hasn’t been the same since. Dona is passionate about the Royal Gorge Route experience and spends her days sharing our story of history, intrigue, and Rocky Mountain beauty with excited guests, groups and convention leaders. She’s also an organizational pro with the kind of commitment to follow through that we cherish and envy. Her favorite foods are fondue, sushi, stroganoff and M&Ms – but not all at once.
Leslie, Guest Services Manager
Sure, there are a few other wonderful scenic railroads in Colorado. But none compares to the first-class service, food and entertainment we offer our guests on the Royal Gorge Route. It’s in no small part due to Leslie’s work. She’s all about making personal connections with guests, and at the same time, she’s a stickler for quality control. With a young family that includes five daughters, it’s no wonder she thrives in this yin yang world of guest accommodation and service consistency.
Risa, Administrative Assistant
Risa is from the motor city (Go Detroit!) so working on a train that’s a real marvel of American engineering is right where she wants to be – except when she’s visiting Disneyland. She’s one of our ticketing and reservations agents, but Risa is perhaps known better around these parts as taskmaster extraordinaire. By the way, Risa was recently in an indy Hollywood film called “Dreams Awake.” To get one degree closer to Kevin Bacon, ask for Risa by name next time you visit the Santa Fe Depot.
Chad, Superintendant of Operations
Since he grew up in the Royal Gorge region, Chad knows exactly where the fish are biting. But don’t ask him to tell you, he won’t. You’ll just have to follow him around in his pick-up truck on weekends to learn that coveted information. When he’s not on the lake, he’s taking folks on a journey through the gorgeous Royal Gorge. He also spends his days working on our equipment and can fix virtually anything. Which is why it’s hard to believe he feigns incompetence at home when it comes to chores. We’re pretty sure this bio blows the lid off that scam and he’ll be vacuuming and folding laundry by the end of the week.
Alan, Conductor
In the summer, Alan is the conductor on the Royal Gorge Route. Technically, taking tickets is his what he does, but what he excels at – what we love about him – is his charismatic, perennially happy disposition with our guests from around the world. He’s a born teacher who thrives on sharing the history of the Royal Gorge Route and all the facts you care to know about our ultra-cool mid-century locomotives. In the winter, Alan rebuilds engines, remodels railcars and replaces railroad ties the old fashioned way – by hand. He’s a masterful mechanic and craftsman who also produces aboriginal music out of his garage studio. By the way, Alan has a killer recipe for mesquite honey-glazed bacon-wrapped filet mignon, if he shares it with you, will you share it with us?
Wayne, Conductor, Carpenter, Engineer
OK, he's the guy in the photo. Wayne lives in the land-locked Rocky Mountains, yet his favorite food comes from the sea. He spends his days maintaining and renovating our beautiful, American-made mid-century railcars, yet he’s currently rebuilding a ’71 Nova at home. Do you know what Nova means in Spanish? No go. Where am I going with all this? Wayne is an optimist with an extraordinary talent for mechanics and carpentry, and a life-long love of lobster.
Mike, Maintenance, Engineer
You may find this hard to believe, but Mike loves cleaning up after other people. Especially the guys he works with in the shop. He is also a skilled maintenance and renovation pro – which we think he might secretly like more than the cleaning part. He also raises cattle on his ranch here in Southern Colorado, which means he knows the meaning of local and sustainable food as well as our executive chef.
Brent, Electrician, Mechanic
Brent’s wife calls him Fred Flintstone. While he doesn’t work at a quarry, he has a serious penchant for rocks, crystals and gold. He pans for the latter when he’s not on the Royal Gorge Route line maintaining and rebuilding our mid-century railcars and locomotives. Brent is a wizard journeyman electrician, which means a lot when you’re in this line of work. His favorite thing to do is build new electrical control circuits for the trains. Yup, he’s scary smart.
This list of stellar staff wouldn’t be complete without an outpouring of sincere gratitude to our seasonal team, many of whom come back year after year to serve guests throughout the busy summer months. These folks serve our fine meals and libations, man the Santa Fe Depot and take care of passengers throughout their Royal Gorge Route experience. We couldn’t make your trip as wonderful and memorable without them.
Royal Gorge Route Railroad
Santa Fe Depot
401 Water Street
Canon City, CO 81212