Nostalgia & History > Tennessee Pass Question

I recently watched a Charles Smiley Video.  Tennessee Pass Start to Finish and at the end of the film they mention a stack train running over the pass westbound and it was the only one they saw in their visit.  They mentioned the Moffatt route tunnels were not tall enough for Double Stack traffic and would cost millions to do so.  My question is then, why would the Tennessee Pass route tunnels support Double Stacks if it was not worth converting the Moffatt Route.  And, before you ask, yes the train pictured had Double Stacks.  

Thanks for the info.

Top Cat

Yes, the train pictured had full-height stacks?
20 ft 2 in?

The summit tunnel at Tennessee Pass was
built ... 1945? So likely it's taller than Moffet's.

Perhaps I misunderstand your question, but at Dotsero the Moffat Tunnel Line (via the Dotsero Cutoff) diverges from the original DRGW mainline that heads over Tennessee Pass. The line between Ogden, Dotsero, and Pueblo was cleared for international doublestacks (around 1988 or so). Dotsero to Denver was not. So, the Moffat Tunnel Line could be bypassed by traffic travelling between Kansas City and the West Coast (and vice versa). 

That said, again, maybe I misunderstand your question.

JTH

JTH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Perhaps I misunderstand your question, but at
> Dotsero the Moffat Tunnel Line (via the Dotsero
> Cutoff) diverges from the original DRGW mainline
> that heads over Tennessee Pass. The line between
> Ogden, Dotsero, and Pueblo was cleared for
> international doublestacks (around 1988 or so).
> Dotsero to Denver was not. So, the Moffat Tunnel
> Line could be bypassed by traffic travelling
> between Kansas City and the West Coast (and vice
> versa). 
>
> That said, again, maybe I misunderstand your
> question.
>
> JTH

Ok, that makes sense.  The narrator on the DVD just made it a little confusing.  They (DRGW) worked on the tunnels in the late 80's, just not Dotsero to Denver.  I thought no work had been done, and thus why TP would have been different.

Thanks.

TC

 

By the 1980's SP/D&RGW had trackage rights to Kansas City from Pueblo so they would rather not short haul themselves giving traffic to the BN at Denver instead.  This decision to increase clearances was made easy by the fact that there were 3 tunnels between Dotsero and Pueblo on the Royal Gorge Route, versus 39 tunnels between Dotsero and Denver on the Moffat Tunnel Route.  Also as mentioned above, the Tennessee Pass tunnel was new enough that it probably didn't need any work, whereas the Moffat would have to be "notched" for double stacks.  BSB