Rocky Mountain Tunnels

With gasoline approaching the luxury classification this summer, many Coloradans are using their vacations to explore the wonders of our state. My parents and I did a lot of that back in the twenties. One of the wonders we discovered was that there were tunnels burrowing under the Rockies in every direction.

They were dug during the Gold Rush when Colorado was the richest spot in the world, or so fortune hunters thought. The gold miners dug mine tunnels and the railroad men came along and dug bigger tunnels for the gold-laden trains.

The Carleton Tunnel was part of the Colorado Midland Rail line between Leadville and Basalt. The 9394 foot bore was driven through almost solid granite, and opened in 1893. The Midland did not survive the gold rush, and in 1922 the rails were torn out and the roadbed was opened to automobile travel.

The thought of riding through those early holes in the ground behind a huffing narrow g7auge steam engine leaves me cold and smoky. But in my youth on the eastern slope, it was exciting to ride through one of them in the faithful old Hudson.

Sometime in the twenties, on a summer afternoon we started out from Leadville and climbed up to 11,528 feet, the portal of the old Carleton Tunnel. We had to pay a dollar to go through it ($1.50 round trip but once was enough). Traffic was one way, eastbound in the morning and westbound in the afternoon. Inside, it was dark and wet and nearly two endless miles long.

But eventually we emerged into the sunshine to find ourselves surrounded by sheep, sheep as far as we could see. The Hudson could climb hills, but not sheep. We sat for a long time and watched the sky turn gold while wool on the hoof flowed around us. Eventually we made our way through the sheep to Basalt and on to Glenwood Springs, probably with a stop for Dad to catch a fish or two in the Frying Pan River.

One of the most famous of the old railroad tunnels was the Alpine, part of the Denver, South Park and Pacific RR. In his book, “Historic Alpine Tunnel,” Dow Helmers waxes poetic. “Piercing the towering Saguache Range...cradled in the majestic grandeur of the surrounding peaks is historic Alpine Tunnel, the most historic bit of railroadiana in the world. Here in 1881, east meets west in the dark confines of the first bore through the continental divide... Through the backbone of the continent rails carry South Park trains to an altitude of 11,523.7 feet above sea level, achieving the highest section of adhesion (not cog) railroad on earth...”

Before the turn of the century, travelers could ride the train from Denver to Gunnison City via the Alpine Tunnel for $11.50. They had a very exciting ride as the train twisted and curved and climbed through spectacular scenery.

I didn't get to take that ride, but I know a woman who did. Lucy Ela, who died several years ago at the age of 101, made the trip as a little girl. One day she told me about riding the train through the Alpine Tunnel. She said it was the most exciting train ride she ever took. I believe it.

Most of the old tunnels have collapsed and are filled with dirt and rock. Today trains and cars speed over the ground instead of under it most of the time. But there are still wonderful adventures in our mountain state for today's kids.