HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Midland Terminal Railway was a short line
terminal railroad A switching and terminal railroad is a freight railroad company whose primary purpose is to perform local switching services or to own and operate a terminal facility. Switching is a type of operation done within the limits of a yard. It gener ...
running from the
Colorado Midland Railway The Colorado Midland Railway ,Railway Equipment and Publication CompanyThe Official Railway Equipment Register June 1917, p. 786 incorporated in 1883, was the first standard gauge railroad built over the Continental Divide in Colorado. It ran fr ...
near Divide to
Cripple Creek, Colorado Cripple Creek is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States census. Cri ...
. The railroad made its last run in February 1949.


Background

From 1887 to 1918, Colorado Midland Railroad operated rail service along a 222-mile line from Colorado City (now Old Colorado City), through Ute Pass and across 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 ...
, to the coal-mining town of New Castle and Grand Junction. It was the first standard gauge railroad through the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...
. Travelers heading for Cripple Creek would get off the train at Divide and take the Hundley Stage along the toll road to the town. In 1892, passengers could also travel to Cripple Creek from Canon City via the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad, a narrow gauge line.


History

When gold was discovered in Cripple Creek and Victor in 1890, some of the Colorado Midland owners formed the Midland Terminal Railroad, a standard gauge spur line from Divide to Cripple Creek. This allowed for passenger travel to and from Cripple Creek, shipment of equipment into the area, and the transport of ore to processing mills in Colorado City beginning in 1895. It was the only standard gauge railroad into Cripple Creek and Victor, which made for easy transfer of material at the Divide junction with the Colorado Midland Railway. The Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway was built by 1911 to transport ore from the Cripple Creek mining district through the mountains—on what is now Gold Camp Road or Teller County 8—directly to the processing facilities in Old Colorado City. Eleven miles shorter distance than the Colorado Midland Railway, it was nicknamed the "Short Line" and offered freight and passenger service. Transportation across the Short Line reduced the cost of shipment as compared to what had been paid to the Colorado Midland Railway. Colorado Midland Railway went into foreclosure in 1917 and Albert E. Carlton bought the company and ore began to be shipped through the Midland Terminal Railway to Old Colorado City. Expenses mounted after the
United States Railroad Administration The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) was the name of the nationalisation, nationalized railroad system of the United States between December 28, 1917, and March 1, 1920. It was the largest American experiment with nationalization, and ...
began shipping materials to supply
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
troops through the Colorado Midland Railway lines, across railroad tracks and beds not able to accommodate the additional trains and tonnage. By August 1918 the railway ceased operations. In 1919, the terminal facilities at Old Colorado City and the abandoned tracks between Old Colorado City and Divide were sold to the Midland Terminal Railway, owned by Carlton and
Spencer Penrose Spencer Penrose (November 2, 1865 – December 7, 1939) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. He made his fortune from mining, ore processing, and real estate speculation in Colorado and other parts of the West. He founded the Utah Copp ...
. The following year the line through Victor was extended to La Bella Junction. Passengers, mail, and ore was transported along the now Midland Terminal Railway tracks from Cripple Creek to Old Colorado City, but scheduled passenger service ended in 1931. After 1934, 90% of the railroad's business was transporting ore to the Golden Cycle Mining and Reduction Company, which was the only remaining ore processing facility in Old Colorado City. There was some freight and ore shipped across the rails during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, but business dropped off thereafter. The railway had abandoned the Taylor Switchback to the Independence Mine in 1930 and in 1948 a total of of track from Old Colorado Springs to Cripple Creek, within the Cripple Creek mining district, and the spur in Old Colorado City to the Golden Cycle Mining and Reduction Company.


Legacy

Some of the old buildings at the Midland Terminal headquarters in Colorado Springs are in use today, notably the old roundhouse, which was purchased by
Van Briggle Pottery Van Briggle Art Pottery was at the time of its demise the oldest continuously operating art pottery in the United States, having been established in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1901 by Artus and Anne Van Briggle. Artus had a significant impact ...
in 1955, and the machine shop, which is now the Ghost Town Museum.
U.S. Route 24 U.S. Route 24 or U.S. Highway 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States Numbered Highways of 1926 which runs east and west for most of its routing. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Misso ...
follows the former railroad's route over Ute Pass. Two miles of the former railroad's right of way is currently used by the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad. Another segment is being converted to a multi-use trail connecting the Pikes Peak Greenway to Manitou Springs. Portions of the roadbed and right of way from Divide, Colorado, to Cripple Creek, Colorado, are in use as Highway 67. A former wood-shored Midland Terminal tunnel was used as a one-lane highway tunnel on CO 67 until the 1990s; after a partial collapse the tunnel was bypassed with a new cut and the tunnel remains as a landmark, its ends are closed with a grille so the interior and shoring can be seen today.


See also

* Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway * Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad


Notes


References


Further reading

*


External links


Midland Terminal Railway photos
in the Denver Public Library Western History and Genealogy collection
Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midland Terminal Railway 3 ft gauge railways in the United States Colorado Mining Boom Defunct Colorado railroads History of Colorado Springs, Colorado Railway companies disestablished in 1949 Railway companies established in 1892 Switching and terminal railroads