Murphy Siding I just followed this line from Parksdale to Leadville on Google Maps. It looks like the line was built for a lot of traffic at one point? There's quite a few long sidings and what looks like spurs for towns or mines that aren't there anymore? Isn't this the line that runs through Leadville and hosts the Leadville, Colorado & Southern tourist railroad? I've ridden on that. The route is steep and winding going north out of Leadville. It's hard to imagine heavy freight trains on that part of the line. When we were there about 10 years ago, it looked like the unused lines going south out of town were in pretty good shape.
I just followed this line from Parksdale to Leadville on Google Maps. It looks like the line was built for a lot of traffic at one point? There's quite a few long sidings and what looks like spurs for towns or mines that aren't there anymore? Isn't this the line that runs through Leadville and hosts the Leadville, Colorado & Southern tourist railroad? I've ridden on that. The route is steep and winding going north out of Leadville. It's hard to imagine heavy freight trains on that part of the line. When we were there about 10 years ago, it looked like the unused lines going south out of town were in pretty good shape.
Ran an awful lot of trains through that TP line in the 80's from the MoP connection in Pueblo (my introduction to Tunnel Motors). After UP got control of the MoP and later the SP/DRGW, traffic fell off the table. DRGW was VERY good at hustling short fast trains through the rockies instead of around them. They competed hard with UP, ATSF, BN and SP as a bridge operator, depending on origin/destination.
Lots of old branches to hard mineral, coal, rock and gilsonite mines all through that country that played-out before 1960. (Look up the Monarch Branch that hauled hematite for CF&I until that operation quit in the 1980's)
DRGW Buena Vista contemporary brick Depot is long gone. (Parking Lot)...Colorado Midland wooden depot still there in the city park along US-24, used as a small CMRY museum. (Stuffed and mounted caboose on the north side)
Massive boulder (size of a large SUV) sitting on the track west of Wolcott, there is a CDOT construction caused slide to clean up near Edwards.
Track is in very good shape, except for the weeds. It was ready to run trains in 2008 (almost did/ as dark territory - Moffat Tunnel was near capacity.) Snow has knocked down the weeds. A ballast regulator or jordan spreader could clean things up pretty quick to get going.
You could run at 60 with passenger trains without signals and the the mountain geometry won't allow over that in lots of places. Getting the signalled and gated crossings working will take some rehab effort)
There are going to be issues with local utilities placed (bootlegged) since the line was mothballed.
The Climax line has 1/2+ mile of the connection missing at the connection in Leadville, but that really isn't UP's problem.
There remains an issue with a crossing for a development near Edwards, been to court once. Needs to go to federal court to resolve.
The dollar figures posted earlier in the thread are way off, just somebody's WAG on the high side.
The political knuckleheads in Salida are already trying to monkeywrench the process. (some skeletons in the town and county closet will certainly fall out)
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Pueblo to Canon City - Tracks good - Tie replacement work about two years ago
Canon City to Parkdale - Tracks well maintained - used by Royal Gorge Route tourist operation and Martin Marietta stone trains form the Parkdale quarry
Parkdale west a few miles - car storage so track is passable
The rest of line west - rails in place, signals derelict and vandalized, rocks and boulders between the rails, brush etc. growing up
There is an old depot in a park in Buena Vista but I doubt it was the D & R G W
What are the realistic odds of this track ever seeing a through train? Apparently in the original filing the expected annual revenues were less than $5 million. I wonder what the potential carload traffic is to get to the shortline rule of thumb of 100 carloads per mile of track?
The track is extant. The welded rail is good (Union Pacific early on wanted to abandon the route and relay the rail elsewhere), but significant work otherwise would be necessary after nearly a quarter century of minimal attention.
In Colorado, I read where Rio Grande Pacific reaches agreement with UP to lease Tennessee Pass line. This would be the ex-D&RGW line that ran between Pueblo and the Moffat Route near Vail.
1) Even though I doubt any trains has traversed this route in a very long while, I wish to know if the rail and ties still exist along the route.
2) Naturally, the track would have to be refurbrished if not replaced and signalling would need to be updated. The article stated passenger service would be evaluated. If passenger service were to be initaited, that would imply the installation of PTC, driving up costs.
3) Does the original depot building in Buena Vista still stand? If so, does anyone know of its present use?
RJ Emery near Santa Fe, NM
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