The
Colorado Midland Railway, incorporated in 1883, was the first standard
gauge railroad built over the Continental Divide in Colorado. It
ran from Colorado Springs to Leadville and through the divide at
Hagerman Pass to Aspen and Grand Junction. Later the line was extended
11 miles west of Glenwood Springs to New Castle. The ATSF operated
the railroad as a subsidiary from September 1890 on. The Hagerman
Tunnel was completed through the divide in 1887, and in 1891 it
was replaced by the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel which was at a lower altitude;
this shortened the line and also made the grade easier.
A new company known as the Colorado Midland Railway took over
operation of the railroad after the company was sold through bankruptcy
court on May 4, 1897. The Midland came under control of the Colorado
& Southern Railway and the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
in 1900, but again declared bankruptcy April 21, 1917, and was
sold at auction to Albert E. Carlton of Colorado Springs. The
Midland struggled to remain solvent, but America's entry into
World War I overwhelmed the Midland's capacity to handle the sudden
upswing in freight traffic; the USRA approved Carlton's petition
to abandon the line in 1918 and the entire line was scrapped in
the 1920s.
The Midland never made a profit; not only did the rugged topography
it crossed result in astronomical construction & operating
costs, but both east & west terminuses prevented effective
through-traffic. It has been theorized that had the Midland achieved
its original goals of connecting Salt Lake City with Denver and
other points east, through-traffic connections with the Union
Pacific & ATSF may have helped the Midland eventually become
profitable. But, it was not to be, and one of the finest, well-built
railroads in the country was abandoned.
My wife & I traveled over part of the old Colorado Midland
grade in July 2006 from Leadville to Busk, on the east side of
the Continental Divide, and reconnected with it on the western
slope of the Divide. Alas, we did not have a chance to pay a visit
to the western portal of either the Carlton/Busk-Ivanhoe tunnel
nor the Hagerman tunnel, so we will have to save that for another
trip. |