Denver and Salt Lake Railway
Encyclopedia
The Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway was a U.S. railroad company incorporated on July 18, 1902, by David H. Moffat
, Walter S. Cheesman, William Gray Evans
, Charles J. Hughes, Jr., George E. Ross-Lewin, S.M. Perry and Frank P. Gibson. After Denver
was bypassed by the Union Pacific line, which passed through Cheyenne, Wyoming
, and by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
(D&RGW), which was routed through Pueblo, Colorado
, and ran west through Royal Gorge
, the Denver business community wanted an "Air Line" west of the city. The Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway was going to be that "Air Line", originating in Denver
, and was planned to terminate in Salt Lake City, Utah
. Although the line was never completed as a separate route to Salt Lake City, the line was eventually connected with the D&RGW's main near Dotsero
and used to shorten their route between Salt Lake City and Denver. The line initially featured an arduous grade over Rollins Pass
. After the pass was bypassed by the Moffat Tunnel
, the line became known as the Moffat Tunnel Route.
DNW&P was placed in receivership on May 2, 1912, and on April 30, 1913, was reformed as the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad, and finally the Denver and Salt Lake Railway in 1926. Most of the line is in use today as part of the Union Pacific's Central Corridor
.
, and was planned to terminate in Salt Lake City, Utah
. Construction began on December 18, 1902. The DN&P started north up the Front Range
of the Rockies
towards Boulder. This ascent to the point where the line turned west, is a great example of exceptional mountain railroad surveying. Chief Engineer H.A. Sumner needing to enter South Boulder Canyon as high as possible, did not want more than a 2 percent grade. To do this, he laid out a highly efficient route to gain the necessary altitude that features the now famous Big Ten Curve. The climb to the Continental Divide required 33 tunnels that were several hundred feet long. The tracks did not reach the western end of the Tolland area until 1903. Once completed, the 33 tunnels between Denver and Tolland are closer together than any other tunnels on any other line in the United States. Rollins Pass
was next over the divide at Corona, at an elevation 11680 feet (3,560.1 m), and then the line went down the western face of the divide. Originally, Moffat had planned to build a tunnel through the worst part of the pass, but his original plans failed. Instead, the DNW&P tracks climbed Rollins Pass
with a series of switch back loops requiring steep grades and experiencing severe snow conditions. The line over the pass was 23 miles (37 km) long, with a 4 percent grade along many stretches, and was the highest railroad ever constructed in North America
. A small rail stop called Corona was established at the top of the pass, with a restaurant and lodging, which allowed workers to help keep the rail line free of snow in the winter. Trains were often stranded for several days during heavy winter snows. Removing snow from the original line went on to make it unprofitable to operate.
The line was complete all the way to Arrow by the winter of 1904. In the spring of 1905, the tracks were completed all the way to Fraser. From there, the tracks went through Tabernash, Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, Byers Canyon and then Parshall, which is at the mouth of Williams Fork canyon. The town of Kremmling, Colorado
, was finally reached in July 1906. The tracks then went West through the Gore Canyon past Radium, finally connecting at State Bridge to North-South tracks. These tracks did not reach Steamboat Springs until the winter of 1909.
Moffat died on March 18, 1911, in New York City at the age of 73. The DN&P had cost him $75,000 a mile, and Rollins Pass
had cost him the rest of his fortune, a total of $14 million dollars. He was in New York City trying to raise more money for the railroad, and was stopped by what would later be learned was the doing of E. H. Harriman
and George Jay Gould I
.
DNW&P was placed in receivership on May 2, 1912, and on April 30, 1913, was reformed as the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad, though it went bankrupt before reaching Salt Lake City. By 1913 the tracks through Steamboat Springs had reached Craig
in Moffat County, Colorado
, towards the Colorado-Utah border. At its final terminus, it was less than half the distance toward its goal of Salt Lake City, Utah.
cuts through the Continental Divide
in north-central Colorado
. It finally provided Denver a western link through the Divide as both Cheyenne
to the north and Pueblo
(Colo.) to the south enjoyed rail access to the West. This 6.2 miles (10 km) long bore is 9239 feet (2,816 m) above sea level at its apex. Fifty miles west of Denver is the East Portal in the Front Range. Moffat Tunnel follows the right-of-way laid out by Moffat back in 1902. The railroad tunnel was 'holed' through on July 7, 1927, and formally turned over completed to the D&SL on February 26, 1928. Railroad connections through the tunnel shortened the distance between Denver and the Pacific coast by 176 miles (283.2 km).
acquired the Denver and Salt Lake Western Railroad (a company in name only) subsidiary of the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad (D&SL) which had acquired the rights to build a 40-mile (64-km) connection between the two railroads. After years of negotiation the D&RGW gained trackage rights on the D&SL from Denver to the new cutoff. In 1932, the D&RGW began construction of the Dotsero Cutoff east of Glenwood Springs
to near Bond
on the Colorado River
, at a location called Orestod (Dotsero spelled backward). Despite the common misconception that Dotsero is a shortening of "Dot Zero," the station name exists from the construction of the Standard Gauge line to Glenwood Springs in the 1890s. Construction completed in 1934 giving Denver
a directed transcontinental link to the west. The D&RGW though slipped again into bankruptcy in 1935. Emerging in 1947 it merged with the D&SL on 3 March 1947 gaining control of the "Moffat Road" through the Moffat Tunnel
and a branch line from Bond to Craig, Colorado
.
and later Union Pacific with a railroad that would outlast most other rail lines in Colorado. Other than the Rollins Pass
part, all of the railroad is in use today as part of the Central Corridor
, and the Denver to Phippsburg part is called Moffat Tunnel Subdivision.
David Moffat
David Halliday Moffat was an American financier and industrialist.Moffat was one of Denver's most important financiers and industrialists in late 19th and early 20th century Colorado, and he was responsible for the development of the Middle Park area. He served as president, treasurer and as a...
, Walter S. Cheesman, William Gray Evans
William Gray Evans
William Gray Evans was the oldest son of Colorado's second territorial governor, John Evans. William Evans was president of the Denver Tramway Company. William Evans was born in Evanston, Illinois in 1855...
, Charles J. Hughes, Jr., George E. Ross-Lewin, S.M. Perry and Frank P. Gibson. After Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
was bypassed by the Union Pacific line, which passed through Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
, and by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
(D&RGW), which was routed through Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado
Pueblo is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pueblo County, Colorado, United States. The population was 106,595 in 2010 census, making it the 246th most populous city in the United States....
, and ran west through Royal Gorge
Royal Gorge
The Royal Gorge is a canyon on the Arkansas River near Cañon City, Colorado. With a width of at its base and a few hundred feet at its top, and a depth of in places, the 10-mile-long canyon is a narrow, steep gorge through the granite of Fremont Peak...
, the Denver business community wanted an "Air Line" west of the city. The Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway was going to be that "Air Line", originating in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, and was planned to terminate in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. Although the line was never completed as a separate route to Salt Lake City, the line was eventually connected with the D&RGW's main near Dotsero
Dotsero, Colorado
- Volcano :Dotsero is built at the base of Colorado's most recently active volcano, the Dotsero Crater, which, according to the United States Geological Survey, erupted 4,140 years ago....
and used to shorten their route between Salt Lake City and Denver. The line initially featured an arduous grade over Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located on the continental divide at the crest of the Front Range southwest of Boulder, at the boundary of Grand and Boulder counties.-Description:Rollins Pass Rollins Pass (el....
. After the pass was bypassed by the Moffat Tunnel
Moffat Tunnel
The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first railroad traffic passed through in February 1928....
, the line became known as the Moffat Tunnel Route.
DNW&P was placed in receivership on May 2, 1912, and on April 30, 1913, was reformed as the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad, and finally the Denver and Salt Lake Railway in 1926. Most of the line is in use today as part of the Union Pacific's Central Corridor
Central Corridor (Union Pacific Railroad)
The Central Corridor is a rail line operated by the Union Pacific Railroad from near Winnemucca, Nevada to Denver, Colorado in the western United States. The line is in use for freight, and provides the route of the California Zephyr. The BNSF Railway has trackage rights on the entire line. The...
.
David H. Moffat
David H. Moffat and his business associates established the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway. It originated in DenverDenver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
, and was planned to terminate in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. Construction began on December 18, 1902. The DN&P started north up the Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
of the Rockies
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
towards Boulder. This ascent to the point where the line turned west, is a great example of exceptional mountain railroad surveying. Chief Engineer H.A. Sumner needing to enter South Boulder Canyon as high as possible, did not want more than a 2 percent grade. To do this, he laid out a highly efficient route to gain the necessary altitude that features the now famous Big Ten Curve. The climb to the Continental Divide required 33 tunnels that were several hundred feet long. The tracks did not reach the western end of the Tolland area until 1903. Once completed, the 33 tunnels between Denver and Tolland are closer together than any other tunnels on any other line in the United States. Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located on the continental divide at the crest of the Front Range southwest of Boulder, at the boundary of Grand and Boulder counties.-Description:Rollins Pass Rollins Pass (el....
was next over the divide at Corona, at an elevation 11680 feet (3,560.1 m), and then the line went down the western face of the divide. Originally, Moffat had planned to build a tunnel through the worst part of the pass, but his original plans failed. Instead, the DNW&P tracks climbed Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located on the continental divide at the crest of the Front Range southwest of Boulder, at the boundary of Grand and Boulder counties.-Description:Rollins Pass Rollins Pass (el....
with a series of switch back loops requiring steep grades and experiencing severe snow conditions. The line over the pass was 23 miles (37 km) long, with a 4 percent grade along many stretches, and was the highest railroad ever constructed in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. A small rail stop called Corona was established at the top of the pass, with a restaurant and lodging, which allowed workers to help keep the rail line free of snow in the winter. Trains were often stranded for several days during heavy winter snows. Removing snow from the original line went on to make it unprofitable to operate.
The line was complete all the way to Arrow by the winter of 1904. In the spring of 1905, the tracks were completed all the way to Fraser. From there, the tracks went through Tabernash, Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, Byers Canyon and then Parshall, which is at the mouth of Williams Fork canyon. The town of Kremmling, Colorado
Kremmling, Colorado
Kremmling is a Statutory Town in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The population was 1,578 at the 2000 census. The town sits along the upper Colorado River in the lower arid section of Middle Park between Byers Canyon and Gore Canyon...
, was finally reached in July 1906. The tracks then went West through the Gore Canyon past Radium, finally connecting at State Bridge to North-South tracks. These tracks did not reach Steamboat Springs until the winter of 1909.
Moffat died on March 18, 1911, in New York City at the age of 73. The DN&P had cost him $75,000 a mile, and Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located on the continental divide at the crest of the Front Range southwest of Boulder, at the boundary of Grand and Boulder counties.-Description:Rollins Pass Rollins Pass (el....
had cost him the rest of his fortune, a total of $14 million dollars. He was in New York City trying to raise more money for the railroad, and was stopped by what would later be learned was the doing of E. H. Harriman
E. H. Harriman
Edward Henry Harriman was an American railroad executive.-Early years:Harriman was born in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman, an Episcopal clergyman, and Cornelia Neilson...
and George Jay Gould I
George Jay Gould I
George Jay Gould I was a financier and the son of Jay Gould. He was himself a railroad executive, leading both the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Western Pacific Railroad ....
.
DNW&P was placed in receivership on May 2, 1912, and on April 30, 1913, was reformed as the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad, though it went bankrupt before reaching Salt Lake City. By 1913 the tracks through Steamboat Springs had reached Craig
Craig, Colorado
The City of Craig is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Moffat County, Colorado, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
in Moffat County, Colorado
Moffat County, Colorado
Moffat County is the northwesternmost and the second most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 13,184 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Craig.- History :...
, towards the Colorado-Utah border. At its final terminus, it was less than half the distance toward its goal of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Moffat Tunnel
Moffat TunnelMoffat Tunnel
The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first railroad traffic passed through in February 1928....
cuts through the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
in north-central Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. It finally provided Denver a western link through the Divide as both Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
to the north and Pueblo
Pueblo
Pueblo is a term used to describe modern communities of Native Americans in the Southwestern United States of America. The first Spanish explorers of the Southwest used this term to describe the communities housed in apartment-like structures built of stone, adobe mud, and other local material...
(Colo.) to the south enjoyed rail access to the West. This 6.2 miles (10 km) long bore is 9239 feet (2,816 m) above sea level at its apex. Fifty miles west of Denver is the East Portal in the Front Range. Moffat Tunnel follows the right-of-way laid out by Moffat back in 1902. The railroad tunnel was 'holed' through on July 7, 1927, and formally turned over completed to the D&SL on February 26, 1928. Railroad connections through the tunnel shortened the distance between Denver and the Pacific coast by 176 miles (283.2 km).
Dotsero Cutoff
The Denver and Salt Lake Railroad was reorganized as the Denver and Salt Lake Railway in 1926. In 1931, the Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
acquired the Denver and Salt Lake Western Railroad (a company in name only) subsidiary of the Denver and Salt Lake Railroad (D&SL) which had acquired the rights to build a 40-mile (64-km) connection between the two railroads. After years of negotiation the D&RGW gained trackage rights on the D&SL from Denver to the new cutoff. In 1932, the D&RGW began construction of the Dotsero Cutoff east of Glenwood Springs
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
The City of Glenwood Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Garfield County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 8,564 in 2005...
to near Bond
Bond, Colorado
Bond is an unincorporated town and U.S. Post Office in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The Bond Post Office has the ZIP Code 80423.-Geography:...
on the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
, at a location called Orestod (Dotsero spelled backward). Despite the common misconception that Dotsero is a shortening of "Dot Zero," the station name exists from the construction of the Standard Gauge line to Glenwood Springs in the 1890s. Construction completed in 1934 giving Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
a directed transcontinental link to the west. The D&RGW though slipped again into bankruptcy in 1935. Emerging in 1947 it merged with the D&SL on 3 March 1947 gaining control of the "Moffat Road" through the Moffat Tunnel
Moffat Tunnel
The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first railroad traffic passed through in February 1928....
and a branch line from Bond to Craig, Colorado
Craig, Colorado
The City of Craig is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Moffat County, Colorado, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
.
Legacy
Although Moffat was looked at the time as a vain dreamer, he would later be looked at by many as ahead of his time. His legacy would leave Denver and Rio Grande Western RailroadDenver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...
and later Union Pacific with a railroad that would outlast most other rail lines in Colorado. Other than the Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass
Rollins Pass is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. The pass is located on the continental divide at the crest of the Front Range southwest of Boulder, at the boundary of Grand and Boulder counties.-Description:Rollins Pass Rollins Pass (el....
part, all of the railroad is in use today as part of the Central Corridor
Central Corridor (Union Pacific Railroad)
The Central Corridor is a rail line operated by the Union Pacific Railroad from near Winnemucca, Nevada to Denver, Colorado in the western United States. The line is in use for freight, and provides the route of the California Zephyr. The BNSF Railway has trackage rights on the entire line. The...
, and the Denver to Phippsburg part is called Moffat Tunnel Subdivision.
External links
- Photographs from the Denver Public Library, now kept at the Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...