I don’t know much about this, but I found a 2011
online article about work on what is referred to as “The Chalk Creek Railroad Bridge” by the HistoriCorps.
 |
| from HistorCorps site |
The site states that the bridge “was built in the 1880s and was used to access the mines in the area. It was built by the Denver, South Park and Pacific railroad to accommodate narrow gauge trains from the Mount Princeton area to the mining towns of St. Elmo and Hancock. Until the bridge’s closure in May 2011, the trail was used extensively by summer and winter recreation enthusiasts.”
The reference to being used on a trail makes me think this is on the Narrow Gauge Trail mentioned in
this post. Does anyone know?
The HistoriCorps state that the bridge “was closed due to safety concerns.” They proceeded to “remove the rotted bridge deck and girders and replace it with new girders and plank deck; construct safety railings to United States Forest Service specifications; and repoint the historic stone abutments.”
I was unable to find any follow up to this work online.
 |
Photo by Historic American Engineering Record, Library of
Congress collection, via Bridgehunter.com |
There is another bridge listed online as
Hortense bridge. I found this on
Bridge Hunter. There it is described as “Lost Queenpost pony truss bridge over Chalk Creek on CR 162 near Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. Replaced by new bridge. Built 1880 by the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad; converted to vehicular use ca. 1926; replaced 1990."
3 comments:
Hi, I was trying to find out information regarding the Alpine Tunnel road closure near the Palisades due to the recent avalanche and one google after another lead me to your blog. Your blog kept my attention as I am obsessed with Colorado's railroad and ghost towns. I had to respond to this post because on March 17th of this year we hiked this trail! It had been on my list for awhile since seeing a sign at the west end of the trail referring to it as the Chalk Creek Grade of the DSP&P. I would post a photo but don't see how to do so. Great trail that hikes along the old railroad bed from the Cascades close to the Mt. Princeton Hot Springs. There was once a town named Hortense, hence the name Hortense Bridge. Thanks for the wonderful info on the rest of your blog.
Hi Christi! Thanks so much for your comment and I'm so delighted that you are enjoying the blog! I love writing it. That's so great that you hiked this trail. Actually, I'm curious if the Hortense bridge is the same one in my post that the HistoriCorps worked on. I wasn't sure if these were two different bridges or the same one. I'd love to see your photos. If you're up for sharing them, you can send them via email to maechner@sbcglobal.net. I'd actually be happy to put them in a blog post. Thanks again for your comment!
Great blog post, thanks for sharing
Post a Comment