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Midland Terminal Railway
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Last updated: 15.03.2010 16:14
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The Cripple Creek Times New Year
1903
(page 39)
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THE MIDLAND TERMINAL RAILWAY
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The builders looked
far enough into the future to behold the greatness of a
gold district producing
$25,000,000 a year |
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 To
the incorporators and builders of the Midland Terminal
railway belongs the credit of making easy of access to the
world a new empire. An empire of gold, the extent of which
was undreamed of by them, and which, even after a decade
of the most marvelous production of gold ore the world has
ever known, remains to a large extent unexplored.
Whether
or not these men looked far enough into the future to
behold the greatness of a gold district producing
$2,000,000 each month and containing a population of
100,000 people, or still farther into the years to come,
when, unless all signs fail, the rich promise of the
present will be realized and the Cripple Creek we now know
will be shown to have been but in her infancy, we must
hail these pioneer railroad builders as men of broad
intelligence and keen insight, who took chances of failure
when others hesitated and by perseverance and
determination built one of the most wonderful railroads in
the world and one which has been of incalculable value to
the Cripple Creek district.
So
much interest is manifested by the sightseer in the great
mines reached by the Midland Terminal railway that the
magnificent scenery through which it passes is sometimes
neglected.
It
may be truthfully stated that there is more varied and
wonderful scenery on this line than may be found on any
other in the state, and tourists who have traveled over
the world declare that the gorgeous panoramas of noble
mountain peaks and ranges in full view from the train and
stretching away in the distance for a hundred miles and
more surpass any similar views they have seen.
Here
the forces of nature seem to have left their masterpieces
to impress the human mind with the sublimity of creation.
It is a sight which causes the beholder to catch his
breath in astonishment and wonder at the glorious,
indescribable spectacle.
Beginning
at Cripple Creek, the heavy steel rails of this mountain
railway wind around the hills, gradually reaching higher
and higher above the valleys and towns. In and out through
the entire district, past the ore chutes of the most of
the great gold-producing mines and through the gold cities
of Elkton, Anaconda, Victor, Portland and Independence,
and thence around famous Bull hill, whose crest is crowned
with mines.
All
the while in full view of the snow-capped peaks of the
high mountain ranges away off in the distance.
From
Bull hill and Cameron, Pike's peak is in sight for several
miles. This view of one of the highest peaks in the state
is magnificent in the extreme. Standing alone, rugged,
storm-swept and at times obscured by the clouds, this
giant among pigmies towers above the foothills and the
lower mountains, and may be seen even from Denver, eighty
miles away, but from this point on the Midland Terminal
railway, historical Pike's peak, one of the grandest
pieces of the Creator's handiwork, appears in all of its
magnificence and splendor.
The
road turns directly north at Cameron, passes through the,
as yet, undeveloped portion of the mining district.
Through
Gillett and the canons beyond, then ascends to the crest
of Hayden divide, over one of the steepest grades on any
railroad in the state.
Four
per cent. grades and sixteen degrees curves are very much
in evidence, and here again scenery becomes surpassingly
grand.
Alongside the M.T. Ry. to
Cripple Creek |
The
passenger finds himself in the heart of the
mountains, with the valley beneath, full of the
rarest flowers, and, sheltered in the bosom of the
canon, winds a silvery mountain stream which
contrasts beautifully with the various shades of
green and red and makes a strikingly warm picture in
comparison with the chilly snow-covered mountains of
the great divide, which loom in the distance to
appalling heights. |
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Almost
as far as the eye can reach across fifty miles of plain
and foothills, over the most gigantic perspective in all
nature, these hoary mountains stretch away for hundreds of
miles, presenting a spectacle so grand, so cold and so
desolate that expressions of admiration and awe escape
from all who look upon this stupendous panorama. |
Pikes Peak from the M.T. Ry. to
Cripple Creek |
Green Mountain Falls |
At
Divide, Colo., connection is made with the Colorado
Midland railway, and here the scene changes to a
delightful parks of upper Ute pass. The railroad winds
through the beautiful summer resorts of Green Mountain
Falls, Woodland park and Cascade canon, thence to Manitou
and Colorado Springs through lower Ute pass, the most
famous gorge in Colorado. |
This
gateway to the Cripple Creek district is, aside from its
scenic grandeur, the most interesting historical region in
the West.
In
the camping ground of the Ute Indian in the days gone by,
many sanguinary conflicts were waged in the rock-bound
fastnesses of this granite pass. Famous as the scene of
the earliest gold discoveries in the state, and the route
of the first wagon road through the Rocky Mountains.
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The
walls of solid rock stand 2,000 feet in height and so
narrow is the canon in many places that the roadbed has
been hewn from the solid rock and the chasms spanned by
great bridges. The track through the pass has recently
been rebuilt with seventy-five-pound steel rails, and many
other improvements are contemplated. |
Ute
pass |
The
through car service of the Midland Terminal railway is
very complete. There are at present two trains each way
every day between Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs,
Pueblo and Denver, on which through coaches and chair cars
are in service between Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs.
Direct
connections with all of the fast trains of Eastern lines
are made at the points mentioned, and at Divide for all
Western points, including Leadville, Glenwood, Grand
Junction, Salt Lake and the Pacific coast.
The
Midland Terminal railway was incorporated August, 1892.
Seven miles of it (Divide to Midland) were constructed
during the fall of 1893.
These
seven miles were opened for traffic on December 11, 1893.
Passengers and freight were handled between Midland, the
terminus, and Cripple Creek by stages and transfer wagons.
The line was completed to Gillett, fifteen miles from
Divide, on July 4, 1894, and extended and opened to Victor
on December 16, 1894, and to Cripple Creek December 18,
1895.
The
incorporators were W.K. Gillett, H. Collbran and H.P.
Lillibridge. Mr. Gillett eventually secured control of the
entire property, and has since been its president.
The
road is broad gauge throughout.
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