Alpine Tunnel is a

narrow gauge railroad A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

located east of

Pitkin, Colorado Pitkin is a Statutory Town in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The population was 72 at the 2020 census. Pitkin was founded in 1879, and is said to be Colorado's first mining camp west of the Continental Divide. Originally named Qua ...

on the former

Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the ...

route from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

to Gunnison. At an elevation of , it was the first tunnel constructed through the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

in Colorado, and according to the

U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

br>"remains the highest railroad tunnel and the longest narrow gauge tunnel in North America."
However, it did not last long in service. Construction began in January 1880 and was scheduled to last for six months but instead dragged on until July 1882, and the line was abandoned in 1910 due to minor damage in the tunnel. Now the tunnel is sealed shut and the remaining trackbed serves as a trail for hikers and bicyclists.

History

Location of the tunnel portals and establishing a center line of the bore were completed in December 1879. Construction took place from 1880–1881, by Cummings & Co. Construction company, and the tunnel was "holed through" on July 26, 1881. This was the highest and most expensive tunnel built up until that time. It is more than two miles (3 km) above sea level, with its highest point at 11,523.7 feet (3,512.4 m). It is 500 feet (150 m) under Altman Pass, later to be renamed Alpine Pass to prevent confusion, with a 1,825-foot (556 m) bore. It took 18 months to complete, with most of the construction done during the winter months. The DSP & P had anticipated boring the Alpine tunnel through solid rock, taking about 6 months to complete. In the event, the line of the tunnel was found to run primarily through loose rock and clay; this very unstable ground required substantial timbering. The additional work necessitated by the unexpected ground conditions was a major contributor to the 18 month construction time. The tunnel was abandoned in 1910 by the

Colorado & Southern The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burli ...

due to minor damage in the interior. This was not considered to be worth repairing due to a lack of traffic, as the line failed to get much beyond Gunnison on the west side. The Gunnison Division of the

was abandoned from St. Elmo on the east side of the pass to

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

on the west side. The line from Quartz to Baldwin was given to the

Denver & Rio Grande Western The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

in exchange for some little used lines around

Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...

Present day

The east portal of the tunnel has collapsed and the west portal has been covered by

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s. The former railbed is now a

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

on the east side, and a rough road over the former railbed on the west side leads to a restored

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

. The road to the west portal was damaged in 2016 and was reopened on August 1st 2022 until August 31st 2022. Little remains of the station complex built by the railroad to service its trains and workers at this remote and inhospitable location. Volunteers have restored the railroad's 1883 Alpine Tunnel

telegraph office Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

and reconstructed the station platform, of rail track, a turntable and an outhouse. Only ruins remain of the section house and engine house, and other buildings and railroad infrastructure have disappeared. Volunteers work on restoration of the complex at least once a year. The Alpine Tunnel Historic District was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in April 1996. It is typically open from July to September.

Gallery

Image:Alpine_tunnel_telegraph_station.jpg, Alpine Tunnel telegraph station Image:Alpine_tunnel_westportal_2001.jpg, Western Portal Image:Alpine_tunnel_eastportal_2001.jpg, Eastern Portal Image:Alpine_tunnel_palisades.jpg, Palisades west of Alpine Tunnel

External links

{{commonscat-inline, Alpine Tunnel
Western Portal of the Alpine Tunnel - Pitkin Area

Denver Post hiking guide to Alpine Tunnel

An introduction and short history of the DSP&P's Alpine Tunnel

Transportation buildings and structures in Chaffee County, Colorado Railroad tunnels in Colorado Rail trails in Colorado Transportation buildings and structures in Gunnison County, Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Gunnison County, Colorado Rail mountain passes of the United States Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad Tunnels completed in 1882 Mountain passes of Colorado Railway tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places Railway buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado

History

Present day

Gallery

See also

External links