Here it is! The very top of Tennessee Pass and, at the time of the idling of Tennessee Pass, the highest Class 1 rail line in the United States at 10,221 feet above sea level. The tunnel is about a half mile long and looks - from this shot - to be clear of any major obstructions.
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A look through the tunnel at the summit of Tennessee Pass as seen from the top of the signal at the west end of the siding. This view should be obscured, but since the signal head itself has been removed, it is a clear shot!
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It would appear the the signal control box at the west switch of Tennessee Pass has moved around a bit over the course of its life. You can pretty clearly see "Arvada" painted over on the box. And, if you look even closer, it appears "Arvada" was painted over something that starts with a "P". Even closer examination reveals what appears to be an "A" and an "L". That being the case would mean this box also spent time at Palisade near Grand Junction.
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While the line itself technically isn't abandoned, the CTC system absolutely is. A look inside the signal cabinet at west Tennessee Pass reveals cut wires and broken glass everywhere. If Tennessee Pass ever were to become active again with CTC, a completely new CTC system would have to be installed.
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A detailed shot of the General Electric logo on the signal control box at the west end of Tennessee Pass.
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All of Rio Grande's signalling equipment was manufactured by General Railway Signal Company, one of two major players in the signals and CTC market up to this day. The other is Union Switch and Signal which, since 2009, is known as Ansaldo STS.
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The west switch of Tennessee Pass siding was located very close to the east portal of the tunnel at the summit. As you can see in the picture, the signal for eastbound was positioned is such a way that trains coming through the tunnel could have a clear look at the condition of the signal.
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Powered switches in CTC territory can be placed into "hand throw" if necessary so the switch can be thrown by hand. This may happen due to a power outage (although rare) or, more likely, because a maintainer is working on the switch and needs to throw it without the dispatcher. This is a closeup view of the hand throw lever on the switch machine.
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An up close look at the "General Railway Signal Co" stamped on to the switch machine located at west Tennessee Pass. Unfortunately, this particular switch machine hasn't had power running to it 15 years!
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One of the biggest problems caused by the inactivity on Tennessee Pass (as you expect) appears to be rust. Much of the paint on this switch machine is gone, leaving behind a lot of rust.
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The stamp on this rail indicates that it was made in 1980 at the Colorado Fuel and Iron plant near Pueblo. Other than the significant amount of rust that has accumulated on the rails, the track appears to be in pretty good condition.
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Looking west at the west end of Tennessee Pass, there is no longer a signal to tell trains what the condition is departing the block...then again, there aren't any trains either, so I guess the lack of a signal is irrelevant.
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A look west out of the west end of Tennessee Pass toward the east portal of the tunnel. I found it interesting how many joints there seemed to be on the siding. There may be a little bit of a telephoto compression effect here, but not much. The joints seem to come every 15 or 20 feet long the entire siding.
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Even at 10,000 feet, the weeds are making descent progress at burying the siding near the east end of the siding of Malta. This is the siding closest to Leadville and the location where the lead to the yard at Leadville left the mainline. The lead and the yard in Leadville were remove many, many years ago.
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Look east out the east end of Malta, the name has all but been worn off of the signal control box. Unlike several other locations, the signal at east Malta is still standing, apparently intact.
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