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| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 21st and Cimarron Streets [1] Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Reporting mark | MTR (expired) |
| Locale | Colorado |
| Dates of operation | 1893 –1949 |
| Successor | abandoned |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Previous gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) gauge |
The Midland Terminal Railway was a short line terminal railroad running from the Colorado Midland Railway near Divide to Cripple Creek, Colorado. The railroad made its last run in February 1949.
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, to the coal-mining town of New Castle [2] and Grand Junction. It was the first standard gauge railroad through the Rocky Mountains. [3] 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. [2]
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| Coal mining areas |
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When gold was discovered in Cripple Creek and Victor in 1890, [3] some of the Colorado Midland owners [lower-alpha 1] formed the Midland Terminal Railroad, a standard gauge spur line from Divide to Cripple Creek. [2] [3] 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 [2] beginning in 1895. [4] [2] [lower-alpha 2] 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. [2]
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. [2] Eleven miles shorter distance than the Colorado Midland Railway, it was nicknamed the "Short Line" and offered freight and passenger service. [3] Transportation across the Short Line reduced the cost of shipment as compared to what had been paid to the Colorado Midland Railway. [2] 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. [2] Expenses mounted after the United States Railroad Administration began shipping materials to supply World War I 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. [2]
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. The following year the line through Victor was extended to La Bella Junction. [4] [3] Passengers, mail, and ore was transported along the now Midland Terminal Railway tracks from Cripple Creek to Old Colorado City, [2] but scheduled passenger service ended in 1931. [2] [6] 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. [2] There was some freight and ore shipped across the rails during World War II, but business dropped off thereafter. [2] The railway had abandoned the Taylor Switchback to the Independence Mine in 1930 and in 1948 a total of 64.5 miles (103.8 km) 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. [4] [lower-alpha 3]
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 in 1955, [7] and the machine shop, which is now the Ghost Town Museum. U.S. Route 24 follows the former railroad's route over Ute Pass. [3]
Two miles of the former railroad's right of way is currently used by the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad.[ citation needed ] Another segment is being converted to a multi-use trail connecting the Pikes Peak Greenway to Manitou Springs.[ citation needed ] Portions of the roadbed and right of way from Divide, Colorado, to Cripple Creek, Colorado, are in use as Highway 67.[ citation needed ] 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.[ citation needed ]
Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 1,155 at the 2020 United States Census. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic Landmark status in 1961, includes part or all of the city and the surrounding area. The city is now a part of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.
The Denver and 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 3 ft narrow-gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado, in 1870. It served mainly as a transcontinental bridge line between Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Rio Grande was also a major origin of coal and mineral traffic.
The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad was a historic 3 ft narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom. The railroad took its name from the fact that its main line from Denver ascended the Platte Canyon and traversed South Park, hence its popular name "The South Park Line." Despite its lofty goals, the line never connected itself with the Pacific or any transcontinental line, apart from its terminal at Denver Union Station.
Tennessee Pass elevation 10,424 ft (3,177 m) is a high mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The pass was named after Tennessee, the native state of a group of early prospectors.
The Gold Belt Tour Scenic and Historic Byway is a National Scenic Byway, a Back Country Byway, and a Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Fremont and Teller counties, Colorado, USA. The byway is named for the Gold Belt mining region. The Cripple Creek Historic District is a National Historic Landmark. The byway forms a three-legged loop with the Phantom Canyon Road, the Shelf Road, and the High Park Road (paved).
The Colorado Midland Railway, incorporated in 1883, was the first standard gauge railroad built over the Continental Divide in Colorado. It ran from Colorado Springs to Leadville and through the divide at Hagerman Pass to Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction.
The Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway was a 4 ft 8+1⁄2 instandard gauge railroad operating in the U.S. state of Colorado around the turn of the 20th century.
David Halliday Moffat was an American financier and industrialist.
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 Burlington Northern Railroad in 1981.
The Midland Terminal Railroad Depot in Victor, Colorado, was built in 1895 for the Midland Terminal Railway.
Cripple Creek Historic District is a historic district including Cripple Creek, Colorado, United States and is significant for its gold mining era history. It developed as a gold mining center beginning in 1890, with a number of buildings from that period surviving to this day. The mines in the area were among the most successful, producing millions of dollars of gold in the 1890s and supporting a population of 25,000 at its peak. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.
The Cripple Creek & Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad is a 2 ft narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates seasonal tourist trains between Cripple Creek and the city's outskirts to the south. The railroad uses a revitalized section of the original Midland Terminal Railway and the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad. The railroad's one station and around half of its route is located within the Cripple Creek Historic District, a National Historic Landmark.
The Utah Division of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) is a rail line that connects Grand Junction, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah in the Western United States. It is now incorporated into the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) system as part of the Central Corridor. The modern Union Pacific has split the line into two subdivisions for operational purposes, the Green River Subdivision between Grand Junction and Helper, Utah and the Provo Subdivision from Helper to Salt Lake City. Daily passenger service is provided by Amtrak's California Zephyr; the BNSF Railway and Utah Railway have trackage rights over the line.
The Midland Terminal Railroad Roundhouse is a historic 14 stall railroad roundhouse in Colorado Springs, Colorado, located on US Highway 24 at 21st street. It is between Manitou Springs and the central business district of Colorado Springs. The building was constructed and operated by the Colorado Midland Railroad which was founded in 1883 but the roundhouse dates from 1887-88. It was located in Colorado City until 1917, when Colorado City became part of Colorado Springs. Due to the World War I Railroad War Board rerouting of Colorado Midland traffic to the Denver and Rio Grande Western, the CM shutdown in 1917 and went into bankruptcy in 1918. The roundhouse was then owned and operated by the Midland Terminal Railway which purchased the Colorado Midland portion from Colorado Springs to Divide, Colorado in 1921. The MT shut down in 1949.
The Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad (F&CC) was a 3 ft narrow-gauge railroad running northward from junctions with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad at the mill towns of Florence and later moved to Cañon City, Colorado, on the banks of the Arkansas River, up steep and narrow Phantom Canyon to the Cripple Creek Mining District, west of Pikes Peak. It was founded in 1893 and went out of business in 1915
The Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, formerly and historically the Cresson Mine, is an active gold mine located near the town of Victor, in the Cripple Creek mining district in the US state of Colorado. The richest gold mine in Colorado history, it is the only remaining significant producer of gold in the state, and produced 322,000 troy ounces of gold in 2019, and reported 3.45 million troy ounces of Proven and Probable Reserves as at December 31, 2019. It was owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti through its subsidiary, the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company (CC&V), until 2015, when it sold the mine to Newmont Mining Corporation.
Gillett is a ghost town located near Cripple Creek in Teller County, Colorado, United States. The town underwent two name changes, first becoming known as West Beaver Park, then as Cripple City, and finally being named after W.K. Gillett, a railroad man. His partners, Henry Collbran, Irving Howbert, and Harlan Lillibridge created the Midland Terminal railroad, a branch of Colorado Midland Railroad. The Gillett post office operated from August 29, 1894, until March 15, 1913. Gillett is famous for being the site of the only bullfight ever held in the US.
The Cripple Creek Gold Rush was a period of gold production in the Cripple Creek area from the late 1800s until the early 1900s. Mining exchanges were in Cripple Creek, Colorado Springs, Pueblo and Victor. Smelting was in Gillett, Florence, and (Old) Colorado City. Mining communities sprang up quickly, but most lasted only as long as gold continued to be produced. Settlements included:
In the mid-19th century, Colorado Springs was a center of mining industry activity. Coal was mined in 50 mines in the area and towns, now annexed to Colorado Springs, were established to support residents of the coal mining industry.
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