if i may offer this opinion: colorado/utah is the West. in rural parts of the western states (including wyoming, new mexico, nevada, montana) there is a common cowboy accent. it's not "southern" or even "texan", but it's a "sons of the pioneers" kind of cowboy speech. you hear it at rodeos from every announcer. i've heard all kinds of common words said differently "git" instead of "get" -- that kind of thing. it's not bad, or wrong, just different. to the point: i think a lot of Rio Grande employees came from the rural towns through which the Grande passed, and this is how they talk. re: ben's logic -- he's right on. it should be Rio Grande(eh). i think our "mix of english spanish" has changed a lot of words to conform to whichever understanding we have of the rules of our own language. Texas should be "tehas", "amarillo" should be "amariyo"; etc. so it is "Ree-oh Grand" all the way, (unless you're a railroad cowboy-country employee) he he he dave f.
Hi all, I just talked with a former D&RGW employee and his grandfather, also a D&RGW employee, prononced it Rye-oh Grand since the late 1800's. Oh well.
