Georgetown Loop Railroad
| Georgetown Loop Railroad | |
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 Georgetown Loop Railroad, 1899
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| Route length: | 4.8 km |
| Gauge : | 914 mm ( English 3-foot track ) |
The Georgetown Loop Railroad is located in the Rocky Mountains in Clear Creek County , Colorado , USA, west of Denver (near Interstate 70 ). The narrow-gauge railway with a track width of 914 mm (3 feet ) is part of the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park and part of the National Historic Landmark Georgetown-Silver Plume National Historic District .
history
The Georgetown Loop Railroad is the 4.8 km (3 mile) section of the Georgetown, Breckenridge, and Leadville Railroad , which was commissioned by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1881 , that sits on top of the Devil's Gate High Bridge , a 29 m (95 foot ) high trestle -Bridge that spans Clear Creek Canyon. The special thing about it is that the railway line bridges itself. Originally built in the 1870s during the Colorado gold rush , the railroad was initially used to transport the proceeds from the Lebanon silver mine in Silver Plume to Leadville , and then became one of Colorado's first tourist attractions.
On December 18, 1970, the Georgetown Loop Railroad was added to the National Register of Historic Places . The Georgetown Loop Railroad was restored as a tourist attraction from 1970 and reopened in 1983. In the summer, tourist trains run from Georgetown to Silver Plume, which are a straight line 3.2 kilometers (2 miles) apart. You climb a height of 195 m (640 feet ) with an incline of 3% and ride in a large loop through narrow gorges and over bridges through the mountains.
The operation of the museum railway was carried out by Georgetown Loop Railroad Inc. from 1972. In the context of a renegotiation of the contract with the Colorado Historical Society as owner of the route, no agreement could be reached in 2004.
In 2005 Railstar took over the operation of the museum railway for 10 years. In the period that followed, there were several business interruptions and irregularities. In 2008, not a single steam locomotive was on the line. The number of passengers carried reached an all-time low. In 2009, Historic Rail Adventures LLC took over the operation of the museum railway ahead of schedule.
Locomotives
The historic narrow-gauge steam locomotives can be seen at the Colorado Railroad Museum near Golden .
literature
- National Register Digital Assets: Georgetown Loop Railroad
- Claude Wietrowski: Railroads of Colorado: Your Guide to Colorado's Historic Trains and Railway Sites , Voyager Press 2002, ISBN 0-89658-591-3
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the National Register Information System . National Park Service , accessed April 20, 2016
- ^ Georgetown Loop Railroad, Incorporated. For 32 years Railroad run safely with passion and expertise 2004 drew 132,000 passengers to Colorado.
- ↑ Railstar replaced as Loop operator: Local businessman takes over railroad.
Coordinates: 39 ° 42 ′ 4.6 ″ N , 105 ° 42 ′ 24.1 ″ W.