Photo ID: 107469 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 6, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Minturn Minturn, CO 1419 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Rio Grande, Union Pacific When starting on a grade, trains will often times use sand to help them gain traction and start (or keep) moving. Engines have nozzles that aim right between the wheel and the rail and can blast sand out at the point where they meet. Due to the 2.3% grade at the east end of Minturn, nearly every train would need sand to help it start rolling. So much sand, in fact, that there is still plenty of evidence of it along the siding twenty years later! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107468 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 6, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Minturn Minturn, CO 1390 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Rio Grande, Union Pacific We are 301 miles away from Denver...if you go through Pueblo first, that is! When the Denver & Rio Grande built its original line south of Denver, they turned west at Pueblo and, as we know, built over Tennessee Pass. The mileposts just kept increasing along the way as this was once the primary route for the railroad. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107467 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 6, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Minturn Minturn, CO 1402 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Rio Grande, Union Pacific Looking east at the east switch of Minturn, you can see right through the head of the dwarf signal on the siding! The lens and all the "guts" from the head are no gone, and there is an empty hole through the middle of it. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107466 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 6, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Minturn Minturn, CO 1484 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Rio Grande, Union Pacific Trains descending the 3% grade of Tennessee Pass would see this view all the time as they approached the yard at Minturn. This is the east switch, which looks like it is in relatively good shape at first. But, look a little closer, and you'll see the lenses have been removed from most of the signal heads. The electrical equipment (wiring) is all long gone, too. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 107465 Date Shot Photo By Sunday, May 6, 2018 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East of Minturn Minturn, CO 1377 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Rio Grande, Union Pacific This shot looks east from (near) the east switch of Minturn. The tracks here have become a very common hiking trail for residents in the area. When out taking picture today, I came across two sets of people on a rail hike along with their dogs. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105355 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West Minturn Minturn, CO 2249 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific This shot looks toward the west end of the Minturn Yard. Westbound, having descended the steep 3% grade, would continue west for the 38 miles to Dotsero along a fairly consistent 1.3% grade. The tracks follow the Eagle River until it connects with the Colorado River at Dotsero. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105354 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Minturn Minturn, CO 2241 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific Toward the west end of the yard at Minturn, the tracks lay relatively unobstructed from weeds. The jointed rail of the siding and the yard tracks add to the dynamic of this rather sad sight. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105353 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Minturn Minturn, CO 2570 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande The Minturn Depot still stands along the mainline, but it is now boarded up with limited access. The main is closest to the depot, with the 10,660 foot long siding sitting next to it. The other tracks in the shot are all apart of the yard. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105352 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Minturn Minturn, CO 2168 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific If, by some miracle, freight traffic were to ever return to Tennessee Pass, I have a strong feeling that the residents in these condos would be among the first to complain about the noise! For now, they have nothing to worry about, as the yard lays empty and quiet. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105351 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Minturn Minturn, CO 2481 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande A classic view from the yard in Minturn. Minturn was ground zero for eastbounds ready to start the assault on the 3% grade up the west slope of Tennessee Pass. Up until the closing of the line in 1997, helper sets were stationed here, ready to assist any train that needed it up the mountain. As many as nine mid-train swing helper would be cut in to eastbound coal loads! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105350 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Minturn Minturn, CO 2224 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific In order to make life easier for residents, the city of Minturn has flat out paved over all the tracks (including the main) at the east end of Minturn. I cannot help but wonder if they spoke with Union Pacific about this first, or if they just took it upon themselves to pave over, assuming it would be no problem. That said, it isn't a problem insofar as there hasn't been a train here in nearly 18 years, but one still wonders... Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105349 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Minturn Minturn, CO 2343 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific Crossing signals still stand near the east end of the yard in Minturn. I would be interested in seeing if the lights and bells are even still operable if a train were to somehow come through! Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103968 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 24, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 302 (Minturn) Minturn, CO 2292 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande This caught my eye in the yard at Minturn...I found it rather ironic that this derail in the yard is in fact aligned for the derail position! Ensuring the phantom cars do not roll onto the mainline that will have no traffic coming. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103967 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 24, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 302 (Minturn) Minturn, CO 2334 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande For many, many years the sound of diesel engines (and steam before that) echoed off these rock walls. Gone are those days as the yard in Minturn has been gathering nothing but weeds and rust for almost 15 years now. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 103966 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, September 24, 2011 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 303 (West Minturn) Minturn, CO 2677 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande On this particular trip to the Colorado High Country, me and the kids were actually going camping! We took the scenic route to our campsite, driving along Tennessee Pass between Minturn and Buena Vista. Here, my daughter Jaina peeks through the back of a dwarf signal whose "guts" have long since been removed. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

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