Denver, South Park, & Pacific

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The second largest narrow gauge railroad in the Rocky Mountain network, the Denver, South Park, & Pacific Railway, was incorporated on October 2, 1872, then reincorporated as the Denver, South Park, & Pacific Railroad on June 16, 1873 by John Evans. They would achieve about 340 miles of narrow gauge line, along with building the Alpine Tunnel, the highest and most costly tunnel built up to that time.

John Evans, born in Waynesville, Ohio on March 9th, 1814, had lived a full life with four successful careers - in medicine, in education, as a financier, and as a railroad builder. All this before the age of 48, when President Abraham Lincoln appointed him the second Governor of the Colorado Territory. He was also one of the Organizers of the American Medical Society, the Republican Party, and invented a number of surgical instruments still in use today. On his 81st Birthday, the State of Colorado honored him by naming the third great sentinel of the Front Range, Mount Evans.

The Denver, South Park, & Pacific planned to target Fairplay, by the most feasible route through South Park and on to Park County. Forming the Denver Railway Association, construction to Morrison, and up South Platte Canyon, began in Mid-August of 1873, following approval by Arapaho County Voters who passed a $300,000.00 Bond Issue. Construction would continue to Webster, then over Kenosha Pass to Como, and into the Fairplay area.

In June of 1874, the Denver, South Park, & Pacific completed the branch to Morrison. This branch would provide a healthy income from the start, shipping stone, lumber, and coal from Mt. Carbon.

Things were very prosperous, until that September, when a financial panic caused by the fall of Jay Cooke & Co. of Philadelphia. This was the banking firm that was the financiers of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Failure after failure succeeded, panic spread throughout the whole community, and the nation was thrown into a condition resembling that of 1837. Traffic considerably reduced, which caused most rail construction to be put on hold, until 1876.

In 1879, all was going very well, when the tracks reached Webster. The railroad was earning about $1,200.00 a day, with only a daily operating expense of $480.00. This made the railroad very profitable, while also allowing a steady flow of money to help with construction cost.

Working 24 hours a day, the Denver, South Park, & Pacific pushed through South Park and over Trout Creek Pass, to Buena Vista. Still intending to target South-Western Colorado, and the San Juan Mining District, the eyes of the railroad were also caught by the mining boom in the close by Leadville. A race was on between the Denver, South Park, & Pacific Railroad, and the D&RG to reach the prize of Leadville’s mineral wealth.

Both railroads were controlled by Jay Gould, so when the Denver, South Park, & Pacific reached Buena Vista ahead of the D&RG, rather than both railroads laying track to Leadville, Jay Gould pressured the two railroads to make a deal called the “Joint Operation Agreement” of October 1, 1879. The two railroads agreed that, “...for the purpose of harmony and mutual profit...”, the Denver & Rio Grande would lay tracks to the north from Buena Vista to the Leadville mining district, and that the Denver, South Park, & Pacific would share equal traffic rights.

The Denver, South Park, & Pacific was given rights to build into the Gunnison Country via Chalk Creek, with similar equal traffic rights allowed to the Denver & Rio Grande.

The Denver, South Park, & Pacific Railroad began on their line to Gunnison, starting at milepost 135.8. First called “Cottenwood”, Buena Vista was incorporated on November 8,1879. From Buena Vista, the Denver, South Park, & Pacific, and the Denver & Rio Grande shared a stone Depot at the town of Nathrop. This was where the mainline began it’s way over Altman Pass to Gunnison.

Past Mount Princeton and along Chalk Creek, the tracks would travel past St. Elmo, Romley, Hancock, and then arrive at the Alpine Tunnel. Location of the tunnel portals and establishing a center line of the bore were completed in December of 1879. Construction of the Alpine Tunnel took place between 1880-1881, by Cummings & Co. Construction company.

This was the highest and most expensive tunnel built up until that time. It exceeds two miles above sea level, with it’s highest point at 11,523.7 feet. It is 500 feet under Altman Pass, later to be named Alpine Pass to prevent confusion, with a 1,825 foot bore.

The construction company of Fitzgerald & Co. took over the project on July of 1880, and the tracks reached the East Portal August 11, 1880. It took 18 months to complete, with most of the construction done during the winter months. The tunnel only had a thirty year life span, with the last locomotive passing through the tunnel on November 10th, of 1910.

The line exited the west portal of the Alpine Tunnel, to Alpine Tunnel Station, the highest railroad station in the United States. There also was a turntable, water tank, and a two-story frame boarding house that replaced the stone boarding house and engine house, which burned down in1906.

Next, traveling along the Palisades to Sherrod, where the two-story Nathan Hotel could accommodate fifty people. Then on to Woodstock, located on Monumental Mountain. On March 10, 1884, Woodstock was the site of a huge avalanche that completely engulfed the whole settlement, along with 14, of the 17 people who lived in the town.

The tracks then travel past Valley Spur, Midway Tank, Quartz, and on into Pitkin. Pitkin was a flourishing town. It contained a brick yard, a number of quartz mills, two sash, door, and blind factories, a saw mill, and a population of 2,500 people.

Then past Ashley and down Quartz Creek to Ohio City, serving the Carter, Raymond, Gold Links, Calumet, Eagle, and Roller lodes.

Parlin, located at milepost 189.78 is where the tracks of the Denver, South Park, & Pacific, and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroads joined up and ran along each other to Gunnison. The land for the track was given to the railroad by local dairy rancher John Parlin around 1877, with the condition that the railroad would build a depot, and stop for at least five minutes so passengers could buy milk.

The Denver, South Park, & Pacific built north of Gunnison up the Ohio Creek Drainage to the Castelton and Baldwin Areas. Then planning to cross over Kebler Pass to Delta, Grand Junction, and points west and south. Track was laid four miles past the Baldwin Mine, and another eight miles were graded, but after losing right of ways to Lake City, and the San Juan Mining District, no more construction would be done west.