Looking east at the west end of Tennessee Pass siding, we find the remains of the signals on both the main and the siding. One thing I find interesting is all the angle bars lining the siding. Most of those are bolted on to the rail where there is not actually a joint!
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The CTC equipment at the west switch of Tennessee Pass is showing its age! The power switch has been totally pillaged for parts. The upper signal head is completely missing, and rust and old ties run rampant. If UP ever did decide to reopened Tennessee Pass, they'd have their work cut out in getting the line back online.
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This was one the highest location of any mainline track in the United States. At 10,220 feet, it is an impressive passing over the Continental Divide. When in operation, a curtain could be closed on either side of the tunnel to keep snow and ice out of the tunnel during the harsh winter months.
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Looking west through Tennessee Pass Tunnel from the perspective of the rail head! The tunnel portal has seen its fair share of graffiti in the past two decades. The rails, unsurprisingly, have a significant layer of rust on them.
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A look at the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel. It has now been nearly 21 years since a train passed beneath the Continental Divide through this 1/2 mile long tunnel.
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A signal cabinet, with its door wide open, reveals that most of the wire has been removed from inside. Done so by Union Pacific, or by scavengers looking for things like copper, it isn't clear. What is clear that none of the existing CTC equipment left on Tennessee Pass will ever be capable of functioning again!
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If, by some miracle, Tennessee Pass was ever put back in service, it would not be with a functioning CTC system. At least, not with the remaining equipment from the original CTC system! As you can see in this picture, this power switch at the east end of Tennessee Pass has been cannibalized. Such is the case with most of the equipment left behind on the pass.
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A look at the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel and a straight shot through to the west portal. While a good sized tunnel at 2,550 feet, it would still take 12.5 of these tunnels lined up end-to-end to equal one Moffat Tunnel. One of the (arguably few) advantages of crossing the Continental Divide 1,000 feet higher up!
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Similar to the Moffat Tunnel, Tennessee Pass Tunnel has a curtain! You are looking at it here, rolled up outside the east portal. However, the purpose of the curtain is quite different from that of the Moffat. Whereas the curtain at the Moffat is designed to help vent the tunnel of exhaust, the curtain at Tennessee Pass is used to keep snow and ice out of the tunnel during the winter.
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Since it is now 6:30pm, the sun is well past the proper position to illuminate the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel. Still, I thought that a picture (even if cast in shadows) of the approach to the tunnel would be a good one to include.
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Standing at the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel, my wife looks up, inspecting the roof of the tunnel portal. You can see the peak of summit just behind her, as the tracks quickly disappear to start the descent down the west side of the line.
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Looking east out the east portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel, you can see what is left of the signal at the west end of Tennessee Pass siding. Eastbounds would be able to see this signal from well inside the tunnel.
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Anybody have a light? At 2,550 feet long, Tennessee Pass Tunnel is just shy of a half mile long. It has been said ice has built up in the center of the tunnel, covering the rail head and making passage by rail impossible and passage by foot extremely treacherous. I didn't proceed any further into the tunnel, so I am not sure if the rumor is true or not.
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This is it! Until being shut down on August 23, 1997, this was highest point of any non-tourist rail line in the United States. We are standing at 10,220 feet above sea level. Eastbounds that had conquered the grueling 3% grade would use the siding to set out their helpers. The helpers would return to Minturn to await their next assignment while the eastbound continued on to Pueblo.
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With the high amount of precipitation in the summer of 2015, Tennessee Creek has run over its banks a bit and formed a nice pond at the east switch of Tennessee Pass. With the fantastic reflection, I would have given just amount anything to have an eastbound come rolling through!
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