From the Tiny Town Railroad in Morrison, Robin and I drove to our next stop at Central City.
Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 71 built by Baldwin in 1897 as Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railway Company 9. After an 1899 consolidation, it became Colorado & Southern Railway Company 71 and in 1941 was donated to Central City Opera House Association. It was restored to operating condition in 1987 and ran for approximately another two years on a tourist railroad. It later moved to Silver Plume, then back to Central City where it was placed on display in front of the Coeur d'Alene mine overlooking the city. It was finally placed on display in its current location on Gregory Street.
Colorado & Southern Adams Express Company car 20, built by the Colorado Central in 1878 as 6. We then drove to Blackhawk.
Colorado Central 2-8-0 71 built by Baldwin in 1911 for the Ferrocarril Coahuila-Zacatecas in Saltillo, Mexico as their 12. The Ferrocarril Coahuila-Zacatecas was a narrow gauge railroad that began operating in January 1898 linking Saltillo and Avalos in central Mexico mainly hauling iron ore to smelters in San Luis Potosi, Monterrey and Torreon as well as providing transport for several thousand mine workers and their families. In 1959, operations were suspended. Six years later, 12 was sold to Early West Railways, Inc., in La Verne, California, along with several other Mexican narrow gauge locomotives. Early West Railways hoped to start a tourist excursion railroad in Pomona, California, but the plans came to nothing.
12 was sold to Specialty Restaurants, Inc., in Anaheim, California, then donated to the San Bernadino Railway Historical Society in 1984, on to the American Railroader Historical Foundation in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and next went on display outside a bank in Palmer Lake, Colorado, liveried as Denver and Rio Grande 71. It was then sold and moved to Black Hawk, where it bears the name Colorado Central Railroad, a short-lived narrow gauge operator in the 19th Century.
The two of us next drove to Idaho Springs.
Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 60 built by Rhode Island Locomotive Works in 1886 as Utah & Northern Railway Company 263. After an 1889 consolidation, it became Oregon Short Line & Utah Northern Railway Company then in 1890 was sold to Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railway Company 263. An 1899 consolidation made it Colorado Southern Railway Company 60 and in 1941, it was donated to the City of Idaho Springs, Colorado.
Colorado and Southern Railway coach 70 built by St. Charles Car in 1896 as Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf 194.
From here we drove to Georgetown and parked at the east end of the railroad's parking lot then walked down the bicycle trail under the trestle and took a trail to the prime photography spot here and waited.
The Devil's Gate Viaduct. Now we will watch a train cross this unique bridge.
The train crossed the Devil's Gate Viaduct.
The Georgetown Loop historical marker.
One last view of the Devil's Gate Viaduct. We drove to Silver Plume and picked up our tickets.
Georgetown Loop Railroad HistoryThe Georgetown Loop Railroad is a three foot narrow gauge heritage railroad located in the Rocky Mountains in Clear Creek County, Colorado. The railroad operates summer tourist trains between the communities of Georgetown and Silver Plume, a distance of two miles. The railroad route is 4.5 miles long and ascends an elevation of 640 feet through mountainous terrain along with trestles, cuts, fills and a grand loop.
The Georgetown Loop Railroad was one of Colorado's first visitor attractions. This spectacular stretch of narrow gauge railroad was completed in 1884 and considered an engineering marvel for its time. Engineers designed a corkscrew route that traveled nearly twice that distance to connect them, slowly gaining more than 600 feet in elevation. The route included horseshoe curves, grades of up to four percent and four bridges across Clear Creek, including the massive Devil's Gate High Bridge.
The Georgetown, Breckenridge and Leadville Railroad had been formed in 1881 under the Union Pacific Railroad. The Loop portion of the line was the crowning segment of the line, crossing the top of the gorge on a 95-foot high trestle.
Originally part of the larger line of the Colorado Central Railroad constructed in the 1870s and 1880s, in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush, this line was also used extensively during the silver boom of the 1880s to haul silver ore from the mines at Silver Plume. In 1893, the Colorado and Southern Railway took over the line and operated it for passengers and freight until 1938. The line was later dismantled, but was restored in the 1980s to operate during summer months as a tourist railroad, carrying passengers using historic narrow gauge steam locomotives.
ReopeningIn 1959, the centennial year of the discovery of gold in Georgetown, the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park was formed by the Colorado Historical Society. The Colorado Historical Society's chairman negotiated a donation of mining claims and mills, and nearly 100 acres of land.
Interest in restoration of the Loop segment as a tourist attraction in the 1970s led to reopening of the segment. Rail line construction began in 1973 with track and ties donated by the Union Pacific Railroad, and a new high bridge was built. The three-mile restored segment, opened on March 10, 1984, is at the upper end of the historic Colorado Central main line up Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden. Passengers can board the train at depots located in Silver Plume and Devils Gate, three-quarters of a mile west of Georgetown.
The train ride includes an optional walking tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine, located at the halfway point on the railroad, where visitors can walk 500 feet into a mine tunnel bored in the 1870s, with guides pointing out once-rich veins of silver and relating the history of the mine.
Our Visit and RideWe first went to the museum.
Georgetown Loop 2-6-2 4 "Klondike Kate" built by Baldwin in 1912 for the Klondike Mines Railway in the Yukon Territory, Canada. It is now in Como at the South Park Rail Society.
Narrow gauge speeder.
Colorado & Southern business car 911, ex. Colorado and Southern/Deadwood Central 911, nee Chicago, Burlington and Quincy "Leadville".
Colorado & Southern coach 174 built by American Car and Foundry in 1900.
Colorado & Southern Railway Post Office 13.
Silver Plume scene.
Georgetown Loop Railroad 44-ton switcher 21, ex. Rocky Mountain Steel Mills, nee Colorado Fuel and Iron 21, built by General Electric.
Denver and Rio Grande Western refrigerator car 153 built by the railroad in 1924.
A Silver Plume scene.
Silver Plume station built in 1883.
Georgetown Loop coach 282 "Clear Creek" built by Coast Steel in 1976 as White Pass and Yukon 282 "Lake Klukshu".
Georgetown Loop coach 284 "Argentine" built by Coast Steel in 1976 as White Pass and Yukon 284 "Lake Takhini".
A Silver Plume scene.
The Argentine Central Railway plaque.
The train pulled into the Silver Plume station and after the passengers detrained, we boarded the train and sat in a covered open air car for our trip. This was Robin's first trip on the Georgetown Loop Railroad.
Silver mine trailings on Republic Mountain.
Georgetown Loop Railroad U4B 140, nee United States Gypsum 140, built by General Electric in 1926. Now let us enjoy a trip on this unique railroad.
We start off by descending through the forest.
The train rounds the Big Fill.
Passengers get their first view of the Devil's Gate Viaduct.
The train is descending to the first crossing of Clear Creek.
The train crossed Clear Creek.
The train ran by the stone retaining wall.
The stop for the Mine Tour.
Our second crossing of Clear Creek.
Looking down on a mining camp.
Rolling down the grade through the forest. Here came the most spectacular point on this railroad, the crossing of Devil's Gate Viaduct.
The train crossed the Devil's Gate Viaduct and Robin was extremely impressed, as was I.
The train has reversed direction and headed down grade.
The train crossed Clear Creek for the final time on this eastbound trip.
Making the final turn into Devil's Gate station. Here passengers get off the train and new ones get on.
Our engine, Georgetown Loop 80 ton switcher 1203, ex. Huckleberry Railroad, nee US Gypsum 1203, built by Porter in 1943, will now run around the train. Once that is complete, the train will be shoved east to complete the Georgetown Loop.
We have now completed the Georgetown Loop and would head back up the grade to Silver Plume.
Passing beneath the Devil's Gate Viaduct.
I took this picture on the climb back to the Devil's Gate Viaduct. Next we crossed the viaduct for the last time today.
Our train returned across the Devil's Gate Viaduct.
Denver and Rio Grande Western box car 3582 built by America Car and Foundry in 1904.
Our train takes the High Fill.
Westside Lumber Company three truck Shay 9 built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1923, on loan from Midwest Old Threshers in Mount Pleasant, Iowa from 2011 to 2019.
One last look at our locomotive. A special thank you to the Georgetown Loop Railroad for having us here today. We drove back to Georgetown.
The Georgetown Colorado & Southern station. From here we drove to the Super 8 Motel in Westminster and had dinner at the Perkins Restaurant next door. I worked on stories before calling it a night.
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