Western Railroad Discussion > Could be the highest "operating standard Gage RR" in the US today

We made a trip north to Turquoise Lake in the Leadville Colo area yesterday. Other than it being a long drive, the trip was fantastic. The lake is beautiful and if one goes out that way Lake County Road 9 completely travels around the lake. Well worth the time. On our way back, we went thru Leadville itself. Knowing of the old CBQ/BN line to Climax from Leadville now being run by the tourist operation, the Leadville Colorado and Southern, we caught the return of the afternoon train back into town. Here are 3 shots. LC&S uses this ex NP GP9 their 241 which became BN 1714 then here to Leadville as LCS 1714. Shot1 is the train coming into town, shot 2 is of the 1714 and shot3 is down at the end of track at the station here. There is a display of CB&Q 2-8-0 610 here also. But it got me wandering whether or not this op has the distinction of currently being the highest standard gage RR operating in the US. The entire trip is made at 10,200ft. When Tenn Pass, which is nearby, it topped the grade at 10240, it was claimed to be the highest freight RR in US and after they shut it down, that distinction fell to the ex DRGW Main to Alamosa over La Veta Pass at 9242, which is below this operation here as far as elevation goes. The Pikes Peak Cog is/was the highest ever RR built in the US at 14,110. Tho it is currently closed and being rebuilt, I do not consider it as being current. The C&TS down Antonito way tops Cumbres Pass at 10,015, which makes it a close second now a days.

Was a great day out and about. Followed the old Tenn Pass ML from Leadville to Canon City. Still wish that perhaps someday trains will run again on this trackage.  Thanks for looking.   Ben



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/20 13:42 by ns2557.

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Nice pics, good-looking train, nice clouds as the PM boomers build over the Rockies (orographics I believe)

BB

bmarti7 Wrote:
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> Nice pics, good-looking train, nice clouds as the
> PM boomers build over the Rockies (orographics I
> believe)
>
> BB

Had a few pop'n up all around us. Mostly to our east and north. Ben

Rode the train in 2016. We had a good time. Leadville was fun to explore also. #1918 led our train.
John

And a Kodachrome sky as we film guys used to say......

After you have poked around town a bit head east over Mosquito Pass. Sometimes there is a road, sometimes you drive over the face of a huge boulder. Nothing an SUV or p/u can't handle. Outstanding scenery.

Ooh pretty, now when the heck is the Climax Moly going to reopen!!

Out 

The portion of the road along the south side of Turquoise Lake is on the grade of the Colorado Midland. At the west end of the lake, if you continued straight ahead instead of going right, in a very short distance you would have been the CM station of "Busk" which was the eastern portal of the "Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel" that the CM drilled under the Continental Divide to eliminate the tortourous  climb over Hagerman Pass. 

ns2557 Wrote:
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> But it got me wandering whether or not this op has
> the distinction of currently being the highest
> standard gage RR operating in the US. The entire
> trip is made at 10,200ft. When Tenn Pass, which is
> nearby, it topped the grade at 10240, it was
> claimed to be the highest freight RR in US and
> after they shut it down,

I'm not sure how many miles out the LC&S travels from Leadville, but the far end of the line at Climax (about 13 or 14 miles) is 11,302' in elevation according to a C&S operated it to Climax (about 13 or 14 miles) track chart from the 1970s.  Leadville is 10,200, but the line starts going up from there, so it certainly would have surpassed Tennessee Pass in elevation within the first mile or so.I know it was by far the highest operating standard gauge railroad in North America when it was operating (excluding operations like Pikes Peak, of course).

Thanks for the photos, and history of the locomotive (I probably saw it as NP 241 when I was a kid).

Nice shots!

I do like Pic 1!!

Earlk Wrote:
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> The portion of the road along the south side of
> Turquoise Lake is on the grade of the Colorado
> Midland.

> At the west end of the lake, if you
> continued straight ahead instead of going right,
> in a very short distance you would have been the
> CM station of "Busk" which was the eastern portal
> of the "Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel" that the CM drilled
> under the Continental Divide to eliminate the
> tortourous  climb over Hagerman Pass. 

Actually, that would be the Hagerman tunnel as the railroad never went over the pass.

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