Most of the info
here is from the book: Colorado Railroads - Chronological
Development, by Tivis E. Wilkins, but other sources and books
has been consulted too. I'm very grateful for the work that was
put into that particular book in the first place, it was very
helpful as a starting point.
Denver & Rio Grande builds a 3' narrow gauge line
south from Denver to the new town of Colorado Springs.
It was completed to Colorado Springs on 21 October 1871, and
on the 26 October a special train for newsmen marked the
official opening.
Regular service began on the 1st of January 1872, which was
the date of acceptance from the construction company.
Length of track was 75,5 miles
Denver & Rio Grande continues from Colorado Springs to Pueblo and
then to Labran (later Florence)
Pueblo was reached 15 June, and Labran/Florence had it's
tracks completed on the 15th of October. There where also
tracks from south of Labran/Florence to coal banks in a place
called Coal Creek.
Length of this was 44,1 + 32,8 + 2,6 miles -> 79,5 miles.
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe seams to somehow have
manage to get to Canon City [I never found a record of it] because
this year they build a 3' NG line from Canon City through Royal
Gorge to a point near Texas Creek.
Construction was by two subsidiary companies - the Canon
City & San Juan, who started the construction work, and
the Pueblo & Arkansas Valley. The later absorbed the
former company and completed the line on 16th of June.
Later the track was conveyed over to the D&RG in
settlement of a dispute over the route through the Royal
Gorge.
Length of track was 22,3 miles.
This 3' NG is built from Chandler Junction on the main line
west of Florence, and south to the end of track.
This short stub was opened for traffic on 20th of November.
Length of track was 0,4 miles.
Denver & Rio Grande builds the Oak Creek Branch.
This 3' NG is built from Oak Creek Junction on the main line
west of Florence, and south to the mines.
Track laying was completed on 20th of November, and line open
for coal trains on 1st of December.
Length of track was 2,6 miles.
Denver & Rio Grande changes from 3' NG to dual gauge
on the line from Denver to Pueblo.
The track was completed to a temporary depot about 5th of December,
and on the 10th a large crowd of Colorado Springs citizens saw
the arrival of the first passenger train on that branch.
This is the start of the first standard gauge line to
penetrate the mountains of Colorado, and they did it by
building a line from the Denver & Rio Grande interchange
at Colorado Springs to a point 1,7 miles west of Colorado City.
Length of track was 3 miles.
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe builds a line from Pueblo
to Denver.
Constructed under the title Denver & Santa Fe Railway
Company, and leased to it's parent company upon completion -
and from 1st of January 1900 merged into the corporate
structure of AT&SF.
Length of track was 116,4 miles.
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe also builds a branch from
Clelland to Canon City (finally...)
On 28th of October was the tracklayers at Canon City
Length of track was 6,8 miles.
Denver & Rio Grande changes from 3' NG to dual gauge
on the line from Pueblo to Florence, which also includes the Coal
Creek Branch.
Colorado Midland is continuing building.
Starting from the railhead 1,7 miles west of Colorado City
they ran the line westward up Ute Pass, bypassing a route
already made out by another company.
By last day of august the rails reached Leadville with
operation to that point inaugurated by September 3.
Length of track was 216,5 miles.
Chicago Rock Island & Pacific completed a line from
the border with Kansas to a connection with D&RG at Roswell -
just north of Colorado Springs and by October the 15th there
where a daily train between Colorado Springs and Goodland, Kansas
- using the D&RG station in Colorado Springs.
Length of track was 177 miles.
Denver & Rio Grande changes from 3' NG to dual gauge
on the line from Florence to Canon City, and the Colorado Springs
to Manitou Branch.
Colorado Springs Rapid Transit (Colorado Springs &
Suburban from 1901 and Colorado Springs & Interurban from
1902) starts to build an standard gauge electric line.
From Tejon Street in Colorado Springs it went west on
Colorado Avenue through Colorado City and then over a private
right of way to the D&RG depot in Manitou.
Length of track was 5,2 miles.
The line went over a 42-inch horse car railway to Colorado
City which was completed by the Colorado Springs & Manitou
Railway Company in 1888. In early 1890 that company was consolidated
with the El Paso Rapid Transit Company to form the Colorado
Springs Rapid Transit Company, which dismantled the horse car
line and replaced it with the standard gauge electric line and
extended it to Manitou.
Denver & Rio Grande changes from 3' NG to dual gauge
on the line from Canon City to Salida.
Manitou & Pikes Peak builds a standard gauge line to top of
Pikes Peak.
This is a cog road, starting at the depot in Manitou this
rack and pinion railroad climbed more then 7500 feet so it
could reach the 14109 foot high summit of the peak.
The last spike was driven on the 22 of October, but regular
schedule trains did not run until the spring of 1891.
The standard gauge line get extended from the Denver &
Rio Grande depot in Manitou and west to a new terminal in
Manitou's business district
Length of track was 0,7 miles.
Midland Terminal (finally a Cripple Creek railroad...
)
A standard gauge line that was to be built from a connection
with Colorado Midland at Divide and south to the Cripple Creek
gold mining district. The first part was completed to Midland
on the 9th of December.
Length of track was 7,1 miles.
Florence & Cripple Creek builds a 3' narrow gauge line
between the two towns.
This was the first of 3 railroads to reach the town of
Cripple Creek. The route of the line made the rails cross the
Arkansas River a short distance north of Florence and then
continue north along an arroyo to the mouth of the Phantom
Canon. The line then followed the main water course for some
19 miles before taking a slight detour around a loop and
crossing back on the other before climbing up a hill/mountain
and looping that again before ending up at the water course
again much higher up (the famous Wilbur Loop) and continue on
it's route north towards the Cripple Creek District.
The track to Cripple Creek was completed by 30th of June, and
on the same date an engine with eight construction cars pulled
into the town.
Next day saw the start of the passenger service, and soon thereafter the
first accident...
Length of track was 40,3 miles.
Midland Terminal reaches the District.
The standard gauge line completes the track from Midland to
the town of Gillette on the 4th of July - and for the next 4,5
months this was the transfer point for the Cripple Creek
traffic.
Length of track was 7,3 miles.
By December the 16th
the track had reached the Portland Mine a little north of Victor and a
temporary station was established for the accommodation of
passenger to Victor and freight, just below the Portland Mine
shaft house. This date saw also the arrival of the first
passenger train, and it marked the date when the transfer
point for Cripple Creek passengers and freight got shifted
from Gillette to Grassy (later Cameron).
Length of track was 8,9 miles.
A spur was built south from Gillette to the El Paso
Reduction Company plant some south west for the town.
Length of track was 0,7 miles.
Length of MT track comes to a total of 16,9 miles.
Midland Terminal continues to build in the District.
The standard gauge lines is extended from the Portland Mine
to Victor Junction about the middle of January after a delay
due to the completion of a large cut.
Length of track was 0,8 miles.
Victor Branch, from Victor Junction there where a so called
switchback so trains could leave the mainline here and go down
the hill into the town of Victor.
No specific date for it's completion is reported, but must
have been after the 10th of march as between the 31 of January
and through march 10 the Cripple Creek Morning Journal had
short news items intermittently reporting about the progress
and the problems of construction this switchback.
Length of track was 0,6 miles.
Victor Branch gets extended to a point near the Independence
Mine
Length of track was 0,6 miles.
The mainline has been extended from Victor Junction to Anaconda
by 9th of October, as by this date there are 3 daily passenger
trains operating in and out of this town. One of them was met
by a stage from Cripple Creek, but Grassy remains as a
transfer point for passengers on the two other trains.
Length of track was 2,8 miles.
Cripple Creek corporate limits is reached by December
19,
and a temporary station was built, where a special passenger
train arrived on the December 22.
The permanent station at the east end of Bennett Avenue is
used by trains early the following year.
Length of track was 1,9 miles.
Length of MT track comes to a total of 6,7 miles.
Golden Circle gets it's first part built. (Cripple
Creek & Colorado Springs from 1915 and Midland
Terminal from 1921)
This 3' narrow gauge railroad started from a point near the east end
of the F&CC yard at Victor, then went
northeasterly along the foot of Battle Mountain till
it reached Goldfield.
-> Golden Circle was organized as a separate
corporation, but controlled by the F&CC, and it's
intent was to serve mines on Battle Mountain and Bull
Hill, north of Victor.
The Florence & Cripple Creek suburban train
service between Cripple Creek & Victor, got
extended to Goldfield on 29th of November, and became
a joint F&CC and GC operation.
Length of track was 1,7 miles.
Cripple Creek District Railway, the Trolley comes
to the District! (Colorado Springs & Cripple
Creek District from 1899)
This standard gauge railroad opens a trolley line
from Cripple Creek to Victor.
It started on Myers Avenue & Fifth Street in
Cripple Creek, with the tracks running east up Poverty
Gulch, under the Midland Terminal wye trestles. Then
the line headed along a winding route up on the
mountain sides to a point called Midway, elevation
10480 feet.
This made the gain in altitude nearly a thousand feet
in the little over three miles route traveled - at the
steepest the grade was a stressful 7,5% for a short
distance up Poverty Gulch, while much of the rest of
the grade exceeded 6,5%
From Midway it descended the slopes of Bull Hill and
Battle Mountain down to Victor, a drop in altitude of
around 760 feet. Around the time it was built it was
claimed to be the highest electric railway in the
world.
The grade was completed to Victor by November
20, and the rails & catenary where all in place by
December 1.
Cars for the line arrived at Cripple Creek on 13th of
December, trial runs where done on January first and
second, while regular service began on 3rd of January
1898.
The Victor terminal was temporarily at Fifth Street
& Granite Avenue, but a permanent terminal was
soon made one block south at Fifth Street &
Diamond Avenue.
In 1899 the line was purchased by the Colorado Springs
& Cripple Creek District Railway Company for use
as a terminal property and to gain access to mines.
After the transfer of title, it gained the name First
Electric Division, which later was changed to High
Line Electric District of the CS&CCD.
Length of track was 6,4 miles.
Golden Circle extend it's 3' track.
The line gets extended from a point on the loop at
Goldfield and southerly to it meets the main line of
the Midland Terminal. The MT track was reached about
September, but construction was stalled at the meeting
point because the MT refused to permit GC crossing the
MT track.
This was somewhat overcome by a temporary wood trestle
completed in the early morning hours of January 1,
1898.
It was later replaced by a permanent steel structure
the following May.
Length of track was 0,5 miles.
Denver & Rio Grande changes from standard
gauge to dual gauge from Chandler Junction to Fremont Mine.
-> This change was done in order to permit F&CC
narrow gauge equipment to be able to operate to the mine.
Golden Circle extend it's 3' track again.
The line is extended from the MT crossing on the
east slope of Battle Mountain to the Isabella Mine.
-> The track followed a circuitous route with
maximum grades exceeding 4% along the mountains
slopes, crossing the Trolley line on a bridge and
ending up at the mine on the north slope of Bull Hill.
Length of track was 3,2 miles.
Bull Hill Branch--Lillie Junction (later Bull Hill
Junction) was also completed to the Lillie Mine
between Independence and Goldfield.
-> Lillie Junction was near the saddle between
Battle Mountain and Bull Hill, 3,3 miles from Victor
station.
Length of track was 1,0 miles.
Length of GC track comes to a total of 4,2 miles.
Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe builds Curtis Mine
Spur.
-> This is built from a siding adjacent to the main
line about 3,5 miles north of the Colorado Springs
station, then east to the Curtis Coal Mine.
Length of track was 1,3 miles.
Canon City & Cripple Creek comes aboard with
a new 3' line.
From Canon City east to a junction with the F&CC
at Oro Junta, 6,8 miles north of Florence.
-> The last rail was laid down by December 18, and
the line was right from the start leased to the
F&CC.
The two companies, along with the Golden Circle and
the Midland Terminal, where consolidated into a
holding company - the Denver & Southwestern
Railway Company, although each road retained its
corporate identity.
Length of track was 7,2 miles.
Florence & Cripple Creek builds a 3' spur
near Florence.
A spur from Vesta Junction, 2,1 miles north of
Florence, heads east and south to ore reduction
plants.
Length of track was 1,9 miles.
Golden Circle extend it's 3' track yet again.
This time it extends from the Isabella Mine to Vista
Grande (also known as Midway along the High Line of
the Trolley route)
-> This turned out to be the end of the line.
Trains where turned here at Vista Grande on a balloon
loop, the westernmost part of which was only about two
hundred feet east of the Cripple Creek District
Electric line.
The last rail was spiked on the loop about middle of
March, and on the 2nd of April suburban train service
was extended from Goldfield to Vista Grande.
Length of track was 0,9 miles.
Lillie Branch is extended to the Cripple Creek
Sampler at Bull Hill as a dual gauge line.
Length of track was 0,5 miles.
Length of GC track comes to a total of 1,4 miles.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
adds to its line.
A new Electric line is built between Cripple Creek
and Victor
-> This standard gauge line was to come as a
addition to the Cripple Creek district electric
railway system already purchased by the CS&CCD in
1899.
Construction began at Fourth Street & Warren
Avenue in Cripple Creek, and followed a winding course
both lower in altitude and shorter in distance than
the route via Midway.
The rails reached the terminal in Victor at Victor
Avenue & Fourth Street on September the 7th, and
regular services started only two days later.
The line was first designated as the Second Electric
Division, but later become the Low Line Electric
District of the CS&CCD.
Length of track was 5,1 miles.
The standard gauge main line from Colorado Springs
came to a point near Summit.
-> This was to be the third railroad into the
Cripple Creek District originating from the outside.
It was built along the sides of the mountains and rims
of canons through the rugged country east and south of
Pikes Peak. The altitude gain in the 20 miles between
Colorado Springs and the railhead near Summit was
about 3750 feet.
On the 1st of September an excursion passenger train
ran over the first 7 miles of this new track, all the
way from Colorado Springs to a point beyond Point
Sublime.
Length of track was 20,0 miles.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
reaches the District!
The standard gauge line is extended from the
railhead near Summit to Cameron.
Length of track was 19,0 miles.
Then from Cameron over Hoosier Pass and down to
Cripple Creek.
-> The completion of the road was celebrated with a
last spike ceremony in the Cripple Creek yard on the 23rd
of March.
A special train from Colorado Springs ran over the
line the day of the ceremony, then another on March
27, while regular passenger service didn't start until
April 8th.
Length of track was 5,8 miles.
Victor Branch is built from Cameron to Victor
-> The track laying crew reached Victor on November
7, and on November 9th a train with railroad officials
and invited guests aboard ran to the terminal at
Second Street & Diamond Avenue.
A regular schedule went into effect November 10th,
with stub passenger trains connecting with the Cripple
Creek section at Cameron.
Length of track was 5,1 miles.
Portland Branch is built from what was also called
Lillie Junction (later Vindicator Junction
) on the Victor Branch.
This branch is built northwesterly through
Independence thence southwesterly via the Portland
Mines to the Ajax Mine
-> This steam branch crossed the First Electric
Division line near Dyer station
Length of track was 2,0 miles.
Colorado City Branch is built from the Colorado City
Junction to the ore reduction plants in same city.
Length of track was 2,0 miles.
Length of CS&CCD track comes to a total of 33,9 miles.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
expands in the District.
Colorado Springs yard gets connected to the
AT&SF station in Colorado Springs thanks to a
standard gauge spur going eastward under the mainline
of the D&RG and swinging back north to the
AT&SF yard.
Length of track was 1,1 miles.
Eagle Sampler Spur is built. It branches of the main
line at Eagle Junction, 0,3 mile north of the station
in Goldfield, then heads to the Eagle Sampler on the
east slope of Battle Mountain.
Length of track was 1,1 miles.
Economic Mill Spur. This spur leaves the main line
of the Second Electric Division (Low Line) at Economic
Junction, 0,8 mile west of the Victor Terminal, and
heads to the Economic Mill.
-> This spur was not electrified.
Length of track was 0,5 mile.
Altman (Midway) Branch. This branch was leaving the
main line at Hoosier Pass, and went south and
southeasterly to Midway.
-> This branch later become part of the main line
of the High Line in 1905
Length of track was 1,2 miles.
First Electric Division (High Line). A spur was
built from Dyer Station near the saddle between Bull
Hill and Battle Mountain, to a connection with the
Portland Branch [built 1901], at a point thereafter
known as Portland Junction.
-> The connection was completed near the end of the
year. The purpose was to provide a connection for a
new route for electric cars over the steam lines
between Portland Junction and the Victor terminal at
Second Street & Diamond Avenue.
Electrification of the steam lines was completed about
the middle of the following February, and Trolley
service over the new line began on 1st of March 1903.
Length of track was 0,1 mile.
Length of CS&CCD track comes to a total of 4,0 miles.
Denver & Rio Grande change its dual Manitou
Branch to standard gauge.
Florence & Cripple Creek
Beacon Hill Branch. This 3' NG line branches of the
main line about 0,7 mile south of Anaconda, then goes
southwesterly down to the El Paso Mine on the
northwest slope of Beacon Hill.
Length of track was 0,8 mile.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
expands once again in the District.
Joe Dandy Spur. This spur left the High Line at the
Raven Hill Station and went a short stretch down
westerly to the Joe Dandy Mine
-> This spur was completed on October 18, and was
the first of three mine spurs built from the High Line
route on Bull Hill to various mines, none which was
ever electrified.
Length of track was 0,5 mile.
Blue Bird Spur. This spur left the main line at the
Blue Bird Station along the High Line, and went
southeast up the hill to the Blue Bird Mine.
Length of track was 0,3 mile.
Electric Lines, Cripple Creek. Extended from the Low
Line terminal at Fourth Street & Warren Avenue,
north to the track of the High Line on Myers Avenue.
Length of track was 0,1 mile.
Extended from the High Line track on Myers, north on
Second Street to Bennett Avenue.
-> This was the beginning of a loop through the
central business district of Cripple Creek.
After two restraining orders and a change in the
proposed route, the tracks and overhead wire were in
place by late May.
On June 3rd, all cars of both the High Line and Low
Line began using the new terminal at Second &
Bennett.
Length of track was 0,1 mile.
Electric Lines, Victor. High Line route extended
from the joint steam and electric terminal at Victor
west along Diamond Avenue to Third Street, then south
on Third one block to Victor Avenue, thence west one
block to a connection with the Low Line at Fourth
Street.
-> The last rail was spiked down on July 10th, thus
closing the final gap between the two electric lines.
The junction become the Victor Terminal for both the
High & Low Line.
Length of track was 0,3 mile.
Electric Lines, Cripple Creek. The route along
Cripple Creek streets extends east on Bennett Avenue
up to Third Street, thereafter south on Third to the
track on Myers Avenue.
-> This section of the loop was completed in late
July. From now on, Trolley cars were routed via Third
Street & Bennett Avenue to the terminal at Second
Street, thence via Second back to Myers Avenue.
Length of track was 0,2 mile.
Length of CS&CCD track comes to a total of 1,5 miles.
Abandonment, Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
has the first one in the District.
The electric line between Dyer Station and Victor is
now closed down.
-> Traffic is routed over the newly electrified
steam line tracks via Independence and Goldfield, and
with this eliminated the need for the steep grade
along the east and south slopes of Battle Mountain.
The double horseshoe curve at the Portland Mine is now
history.
Length of track was 1,4 miles.
The electric line between Cripple Creek and the High
Line crossing No.1 (later Fairview, then Badger)
-> The steam line was electrified from Victor
Junction (later Pisgah Junction
)
to accommodate the electric cars.
This eliminated the heavier grades on the High Line up
Poverty Gulch and Gold Hill.
The changes was done by sections:
- first the line up Poverty Gulch to the High Line
Crossing No.2 near the Moon Anchor station/Mine. This
change was completed in March.
- Second change was completed after the middle of
September when the line from the Crossing No.2 till
Crossing No.1 was also closed down.
With this the very steep grade and very tight curves
of the original High Line up Gold Hill become history.
Length of track was 1,9 miles.
Length of CS&CCD track abandonment comes to a total of 3,3 miles.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
expands once again in the District.
Gold Sovereign Spur. This steam spur leaves the Los
Angeles Station on the electric High Line, and goes
down northerly to the Gold Sovereign and Dexter Mines.
Length of track was 0,5 mile.
Florence & Cripple Creek
Beacon Hill Branch. This 3' NG branch is extended
from a point near the El Paso Mine and down to the
Henry Adney Mine.
-> There were five switchbacks on this extension
which also served the CK&N and Old Gold Mines.
Length of track was 1,6 miles.
Abandonment, Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District.
High Line Electric. Fairway to Midway.
-> The last portion of the original electric line
between Cripple Creek and Midway is now history. Early
in the year the Trolley cars were rerouted over the
CS&CCD main line to Hoosier Pass and from there
over the Altman Branch to Midway, leaving the original
stretch of track straight up to Midway not needed
anymore. [I don't know why this happen, but I wonder
if it had anything to do with at least one mine along
the old grade needing/wanting to expand and use some
open pit mining near/on the grade?]
Length of track was 1,2 miles.
Abandonment, Denver & Rio Grande.
Oak Creek Branch. From the Oak Creek Junction at
Florence to the Oak Creek Mines.
Length of track was 2,6 miles.
Chandler Junction on the AT&SF to D&RG
Junction
-> This standard gauge short track, which connected
the AT&SF and the D&RG coal mine branches near
Florence, was 110 miles from the C&SE
Barnes-Delagua trackage. It was leased and operated
jointly by the D&GR and AT&SF.
Length of track was 0,7 mile.
Abandonment, Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District.
Economic Mill Spur.
-> The mill had burned down last year, and the spur
was no longer needed as the mill would not be rebuilt.
Length of track was 0,5 mile.
A big part of the 3' NG main line through Phantom
Canon is washed out in a flash flood, making the
railroad connection to the south fully broken.
-> Still, it would take 3 more years till the line
was official abandon.
The 3' NG line between Canon City and Oro Junta
Length of track was 7,2 miles.
Abandonment, Florence & Cripple Creek.
The 3' NG line from Florence to Victor.
Length of track was 34,6 miles.
The branch from Vesta Junction to the ore reduction
mills.
-> The operation of trains between Florence &
Victor ceased already back in 1912 after a damaging
flood in Phantom Canon washed out a lot of track, but
the formal abandonment was delayed for three years.
Length of track was 1,9 miles.
Cripple Creek & Colorado Springs changes the
gauge of its tracks.
3' NG to Standard gauge -> Bull Hill Junction to
Midway (Vista Grande)
3' NG to Standard gauge -> Bull hill Branch -
from a point near the Last Dollar Mine to a point near
the Vindicator Mine.
3' NG to Standard gauge -> from the switch for
the Mary McKinney Mine spur on the Cripple
Creek-Victor Line to the junction of the Beacon Hill
Branch, thence on the Beacon Hill Branch down to the
El Paso Mine.
3' NG to Standard gauge -> the narrow gauge spur
to the Mary McKinney Mine, which was then connected
with the MT main line at the mine.
Dual to Standard gauge -> from near Vindicator
Mine to Bull Hill (the Cripple Creek Sampler site)
-> The connection at Bull Hill Junction was
eliminated and the two lines were joined with a short
standard gauge track north of the Last Dollar Mine.
-> Following this conversions the line was operated
with MT equipment. The two railroads were under common
ownership at the time, but were separate legal entities.
MT purchased outright all remaining CC&CS trackage in
1921.
Abandonment,Cripple Creek &
Colorado Springs.
Victor to Cripple Creek, except a short section near
the Mary McKinney Mine which was converted to standard
gauge in order to maintain access to the El Paso Mine
on Beacon Hill Branch.
Length of track was 5,6 miles.
Victor to Bull Hill Junction
Length of track was 3,3 miles.
Beacon Hill Branch - from the El Paso Mine to the
Henry Adney Mine
Length of track was 1,6 miles.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District
discontinue service on its main line (The Short Line)
between Colorado Springs and the Cripple Creek District in
may. This service was later restored by a receiver in July
1919, but cut back to one daily tourist train between CS
and Summit in May 1920. All operations stopped in
September 1920. [What a sad time. ]
Following the abandonment of the Colorado Midland the
trackage between Colorado Springs and Divide, and the
terminal facilities at Colorado City, were sold to the
Midland Terminal Railway.
Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District,
the Trolley system in the District suffers a major blow
when the Trolley barn in Cripple Creek burns down, and all
the traffic is soon terminated for good. [More sad times,
this was a really bad thing from my point of view as I
love the idea of a trolley up there in those hills]
Midland Terminal actually build some new
trackage, yeah!
Taylor Switchback. From Taylor to La Bella Junction.
-> This trackage was used as a passenger train
route through Victor. From Taylor it switched back on
the old Golden Circle (CC&CS) grade for 0,5 mile,
thence on a new grade to a connection with the
extension of the Victor Branch at La Bella Junction,
near the switch at Strong Junction.
Length of track was 1,0 mile.
Two sections of main line trackage between Portland
and Canon City.
-> Trackage rights were granted over D&RGW
tracks from Adobe, near Portland, to Canon City.
Length of track was 10,4 miles.
Abandonment, Midland Terminal leaves the District as the last railroad out.
Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek
Length of track was 55,9 miles.
Victor Branch. From Victor Junction to end of track
at Portland Mill
Length of track was 1,0 mile.
Beacon Hill Branch. From the Mary McKinney to the El
Paso Mine
Length of track was 1,0 mile.
Former Golden Circle trackage
Length of track was 4,9 miles.
Golden Cycle Spur at Colorado Springs
Length of track was 1,0 mile.
Portland - Ajax Branch
Length of track was 1,6 miles.
Length of MT track abandonment comes to a total of 65,4 miles.
-> All tracks where removed in 1949, leaving the
once Greatest Gold District in the World with no
railroad connection at all.
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