Photo ID: 105302 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 203.5 Howard, CO 2022 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific As we look west from the grade crossing in Howard, CO, I cannot help but wonder how many residents of the small town remember a time when trains came rolling through town. That time is now nearly 18 years gone. Despite the passing years of inactivity, buses must still stop at the grade crossing as the line is not abandoned. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105303 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Salida Salida, CO 2283 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific At the east switch of Salida, we find an industry that looks like it has been idle for as long as the tracks that run alongside it! There are signs around the perimeter of the old structure warning people to stay out as the ground are not safe. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105304 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Salida Salida, CO 2136 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific The eastbound signal at the east end of Salida stands tall still among piles of bushes slowly growing over the right of way. An industry that was most likely once served by the railroad now sits quietly in the distance. The town of Salida once found life in the railroad and in mining. Now, it is primarily a tourist town. With skiing at the Monarch Ski Resort in the winter and rafting in the Arkansas River in the summer, there is plenty to do. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105305 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Salida Salida, CO 2142 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific Another sad sight during the day long tour of Tennessee Pass. The yard at Salida was once a key component in the Rio Grande system. For years, the yard had dual gauge rails (both standard and narrow gauge) and interchanged traffic from several sources. The narrow gauge line over Marshall Pass (original mainline for the Rio Grande prior to the completion of Tennessee Pass), traffic from the Monarch Branch, and standard gauge traffic along Tennessee Pass all came through here. Today, 18 years after the last of the trains came through, the yard consists of a single track alongside the 7,240 foot siding and the mainline. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105306 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Salida Salida, CO 2175 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific A jungle of weeds grows up and out of the Tennessee Pass right of way in the town of Salida. While there are those that believe Tennessee Pass will one day make a comeback, I personally am not in that camp. While I'd be the first to cheer if I was proven wrong, I doubt a train will ever traverse these rails again. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105307 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Salida Salida, CO 2117 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande As a general policy, I do not edit the content of the pictures I shoot. However, I didn't want the obscenity painted on the side of the hut to appear on my site. Based on the first letter and the blurred portion of the image, you can infer was is written. I included the shot because I like the classic Rio Grande milepost marker. Milepost 215...downtown Salida! We are a little over 7,000 feet above sea level. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105308 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Salida Salida, CO 2133 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific Even though Tennessee Pass is considered "idle" and not "abandoned", the city of Salida when ahead and paved over the siding near the west end! The railhead for the mainline is still visible, although it would be difficult to get across. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105309 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Buena Vista Buena Vista, CO 2236 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific Main Street Buena Vista (literally)! With 2,600 residents, the town of Buena Vista is roughly half the size of its neighbor Salida. Interestingly, there is no siding in Buena Vista. The main line just comes through town. 100 years ago, Buena Vista was the city in which Rio Grande's Tennessee Pass was joined by the mainline for the Colorado Midland. The two railroads paralleled each other between Buena Vista and Crystal Lake. Here, an afternoon storm pushes its way east out of town. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105310 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Buena Vista Buena Vista, CO 2067 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific I love how the tracks in Buena Vista cut right through downtown. Must have been quite a site (and quite a sound) when a train with five SD40T-2s came through. Today, the tracks serve as little more than an artificial barrier between parking lots. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105311 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Buena Vista Buena Vista, CO 2151 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific During my day long drive over Tennessee Pass, this was the only specific sign of significant erosion that I saw. That isn't to say that there were other spots where erosion has occurred, this is simply the only spot in which I noticed it. The plants have taken over so much of the rest of the line, it would be difficult to see any erosion anyway. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105312 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed West of Buena Vista Buena Vista, CO 2769 (1 Comment Posted) Subdivision Railroad Yard Shots CMR This picture was taken along County Road 371 west (geographically north) of Buena Vista. These tunnels were not created for the road. This is actually part of the original grade of the Colorado Midland Railway. The "Midland" started in Colorado Springs and departed west, climbing over Hayden Divide and Trout Creek Pass before arriving in Buena Vista alongside the Rio Grande. At Crystal Lake, the Midland turned west and went over the Continental Divide at Hagerman Pass. The three passes and the steep grades (in excess of 4% in places) ultimately led to the downfall of the Midland. It was abandoned in 1918 and the tracks were ripped out in 1920. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105313 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 242 Buena Vista, CO 2094 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific, Rio Grande, CRM A few miles west of Buena Vista finds Tennessee Pass running parallel to the Arkansas River on one side and County Road 371 on the other. For 34 years, between 1886 and 1920, there were tracks where County Road 371 lies to the right. This is part of the original grade for the Colorado Midland. The two railroads paralleled each other between Buena Vista and Crystal Lake (just south of Leadville) prior to the shutting down and abandonment of the Midland. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105314 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed MP 249.5 Chaffee County, CO 2015 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific An afternoon rain storm just passed through the area north of Buena Vista. The tracks are getting close to San Isabel National Forest and the last canyon that they will share with the Arkansas River. At this grade crossing the dirt has completely covered the rails. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105315 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed Princeton Chaffee County, CO 1926 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific The siding of Princeton is named after one of the many 14ers (14,000+ foot) mountain peaks in the area. Mount Princeton is 14,204 feet above sea level. It sits among several other 14ers named after prestigious schools. These include Mount Yale and Mount Harvard. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture. Photo ID: 105316 Date Shot Photo By Saturday, July 11, 2015 Kevin Morgan Location Times Viewed East Princeton Chaffee County, CO 2133 (Add a Comment) Subdivision Railroad Tennessee Pass (UP) Union Pacific The east end of the siding of Princeton is unlike the majority of siding out there in that the siding does not run parallel to the main track. Instead, the two separate for several hundred yards before eventually coming back together about halfway through the siding. Now that we are over 8,500 feet above sea level, the foliage is not having as much success growing within the right of way of the tracks. Email Questions or Comments to the Webmaster or add a comment to the picture.

Previous Page     Next Page