On the way to Alpine tunnel - Milepost 178-177

Back in May of 2024, my family and I stayed in Ohio City for about a week. We had a chance to trace the South Park roadbed between Parlin and Pitkin, something I hadn't had the chance to do before. I haven't found many historical photos of the railroad outside of the towns of Parlin, Ohio City, and Pitkin, but recently I came across the photo below. I had filmed the trip between the towns with a GoPro, so I wondered if I could find the spot and, sure enough, it was easily identifiable. I put the find in a short video.

Here is the video:

A look inside the Pitkin depot before the move

Here is a look inside the South Park Pitkin depot before the move. One can see just how little like a depot it looked inside after all the modifications through the years. It will be fun to see what the new owners do to restore its original design. 

The Pitkin Depot was moved after 143 years!

The Pitkin depot, after resting in the same spot for 143 years, was moved May 15, 2025 a short distance away within Pitkin. After many years as a residence and rental, the new owner sought to restore the interior to its depot appearance and open it as a coffee house. Zoning restrictions would not allow this at its present location. The new owner opted to move the station instead.

Below is a mixture of my visit to the site one year ago (May 2024) and footage graciously provided by Pitkin Train Depot Facebook page of the move.

Concerning news about the possible move of the Pitkin depot

Justin Kerns recently informed me of a developing situation about the possible move of the Pitkin depot.

Below is the content from Facebook:

**Historic Train Depot for Sale in Pitkin! 🚂🏛️**

Attention history enthusiasts and entrepreneurs! The iconic Train Depot in the Town of Pitkin is now available for sale. This historic gem offers two purchasing options:

1. **Relocate the Depot** to a town that truly values its historical significance for **$350,000**.

2. **Acquire the entire property** for **$700,000**, using it as a residence or short term rental.

Recently, a decision was made by the Pitkin City Council to NOT rezone the Train Depot property for commercial purposes.  The possibility of establishing a charming coffee shop or a museum, inviting many tourists to appreciate the rich history of this remarkable building is off the table because of Trustee Tom Gibb and Trustee Ramon Reid.

🚨 Important Update from the Pitkin Trustee Meeting 🚨

On Feb 18 2025, the trustees discussed a critical agenda item regarding the preservation of our historic Train Depot and the proposed rezoning of the property to commercial. The decision ended in a split vote: Jerra Garitson, and Ed Pianalto voted in favor of the rezoning, while Tom Gibb and Ramon Reid voted against it.

As the new owner, I regret to inform you that this change will lead to the removal of the Train Depot, significantly altering the historic landscape of Pitkin. I had hoped to be well into the renovation process by this summer, but those plans are now on hold.

The Train Depot is not just a building; it represents a piece of Pitkin’s history. Its preservation is essential for maintaining the town's unique character and cultural heritage.

Historic properties often serve as landmarks that contribute to a community’s identity. Their removal can lead to a loss of historical context and a sense of place for residents.

The decision to rezone the Train Depot for commercial use raises questions about how it will affect local tourism. Historic sites often attract visitors, and their preservation can be a boon for local businesses.

The outcome of the trustee meeting regarding the Train Depot is a pivotal moment for Pitkin. While the decision may facilitate some commercial development, it also raises important questions about community identity, historical preservation, and the balance between growth and heritage. Exploring alternatives, and fostering open dialogue will be essential in navigating this change and ensuring that the town’s history is honored as it evolves.

Your opinions matter! If you have thoughts or concerns about this decision, please feel free to reach out to me directly. You can also contact the town clerk at thetownofpitkin@gmail.com. Trustee Ed Pianalto edpianalto@yahoo.com trustee Tom Gibb tomgibb20@gmail.com trustee Ramon reed pitkinramon@gmail.com Trustee Jerra Garetson jerragaretson@gmail.com Let’s engage in a constructive dialogue about the future of our town!

#Pitkin #HistoricPreservation #CommunityEngagement #TownMeeting 

Searching for the C&S Railway in the Brush: Milepost 178-179

 In May 2024, my family spent close to a week just outside of Ohio City. We rented a lovely Airbnb cabin and thoroughly enjoyed being so far 'out of the way.' It also afforded great time to explore the remains of the C&S/DSP&P line between Parlin and Pitkin. We took several trips out to see what we could find of the roadbed. Thankfully, you can find it largely by looking for the location of today's telephone lines (yesteryear's telegraph lines). 

Much of the right-of-way is on private property, particularly ranches. One of the few spots where this is not the case was near milepost 178. The roadbed there cuts through a forest at this spot. One of my daughters and I set out to see what we could find. It was quite a mess of trees and sticks, but we gave it a shot anyway. Along the way we found what might be railroad tie remains, though, I can't say for sure. 

Either way, it was a fun jaunt of narrow gauge archaeology. 

The yellow line shows where the ROW once was between Ohio City and Pitkin.

This is the segment traversed in the video.

Here is the same segment as above. You can see how the ROW parallels the road at times, sometimes joins the roads at others, and swings away at still others.

Here is a close-up just east of milepost 179. I think the overlay is wrong here. I believe the ROW is now used as part of a driveway towards the top of the screenshot.

This shows the segment where we got out and walked. We parked to the right of the road and then journeyed into the forest at right. In that segment it looked to us that the roadbed went through a long, though not high, cut. We walked from the beginning of the clump of trees at right to the point where the ROW exits that clump of trees as it rejoins the present road.

The Alpine Tunnel Route - RR Magazine June 1941

In June 1941, just over three decades after the abandonment of the Alpine Tunnel, Railroad Magazine published an article titled "The Alpine Tunnel Route." The author, Lewis R. Lathrop, was a D&RG fireman who knew South Park trainmen who ran trains over the "hill" through the famous tunnel and swapped stories with them in a cigar store. In fact, he started work with the Rio Grande just two years after the arrival of the DSP&P into Gunnison.

There are some epic stories in here including one in which a crew of trainmen and snow shovelers managed to turn an engine around with hydraulic jacks. I admit, I still don't understand how they did it. Essentially, a snow blockade kept them from getting through the east portal of Alpine Tunnel, but snow had drifted back behind them. They decided they had a better chance at plowing through the line westward back to Pitkin, but...they needed to turn an engine around with a plow on the front.

While discussing some epic snowbucking skills the South Park railroaders possessed, Lathrop, the D&RG man, admitted that the DSP&P had superior equipment to theirs and that the DSP&P railroaders were better skilled at fighting snow. As evidence he tells of a blockade of Marshall Pass where two South Park "hoggers" opened the Rio Grande line themselves.

Lewis A. Lathrop actually, as the article puts it, "crossed the great divide" a few months before publication of this article. His son Gilbert assisted with its completion.

*A few notes: the story of a stalled circus train being pushed by elephants on the Alpine Tunnel route is likely legend. 

Also, the article concludes by stating the rails over the pass were pulled in 1917. They were actually pulled in 1923 and 1924.

Following the C&S from Pitkin to Quartz (video)

On my last trip to the Alpine Tunnel our family rented two ATVs to ride up to the west portal.  I've found lots of videos of the route from Woodstock to facilities ahead of the tunnel, but not as many of the earlier stretches of right-of-way.  With a GoPro mounted on the roof of our ATV I was able to capture the ride on the old DSP&P/C&S right-of-way starting in Pitkin.  

This video covers the stretch from Pitkin to the townsite of Quartz, following in the "footsteps" of eastbound C&S mixed train 93.  Some historical photos and sites are highlighted along the way, as is the terrain traversed by the railroad.  

A Tale of Two Tunnels: Where the rails to the Alpine Tunnel ended up

When the rails from Quartz to roughly a mile below Alpine Tunnel's west portal were finally pulled 13 years after trains stopped running, they were all piled up at the former Quartz townsite.  What became of these discarded rails?  Apparently, they went off to help another tunnel.

Author's collection

In September of 1923, the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad began construction of its own tunnel that, like the Alpine Tunnel, would pierce the Continental Divide.  Roughly one month after work commenced, a note was printed in the Pitkin Miner of October 5th that read, "Two cars of rails were loaded at Quartz last week and shipped to Denver.  They are to be used in the construction of the Moffat Tunnel."

So, these rails started out their life serving a Colorado mountain tunnel and went on to do the same in their second life.

Sources:
A Documentary History of the South Park Line: Vol. 5: The Gunnison District, Part II by Daniel W. Edwards, 2016.  Page 165.
"Facts About the Moffatt Tunnel" Steamboat Pilot, 24 March 1926. From Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection.

Riding the C&S grade through Pitkin, Colorado 2018

This is a mixture of photos and video of Pitkin, Colorado from 2018 alongside early 1900's photos.  Pitkin, founded in 1879 was the first mining camp to the west of the Continental Divide.  The Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad tunneled through the Divide in the early 1880s, eventually traveling straight through the center of Pitkin, where extensive railroad facilities existed to feed and service hungry engines after surviving the mountain trek on their way to Gunnison or preparing for their assault on the range on their way to Denver.  Eventually, the DSP&P would become the Colorado & Southern Railway.

The C&S would abandon the tunnel in 1910 leaving Pitkin stranded from rail service.  Trackage from Gunnison in the west to Pitkin would be given to the Denver & Rio Grande who operated the stub line into the 1930s before finally pulling the rails.

Credits:
Photos 1 & 2: H.L. Curtiss Photo - James Ehrenberger Collection
Photo 3: Pitkin Historical and Community Association
Map: C&S 1918 ICC Valuation Map - Colorado Railroad Museum
All the above from: Tom and Denise Klinger's South Park's Gunnison Division Memories & Then Some, 2012

Railroad audio is from: Sounds of Steam Locomotives No. 3: Colorado Narrow Gauge Stack Music. "Three Little Engines and 33 Cars."

The Other, Other Palisade

When most of us think of a palisade, we think of THE palisades-the rock retaining walls built on the upper portion of the grade leading to the west portal of Alpine Tunnel.  Some of us also might think of a very similar palisade at Ohio Pass.  This one was part of an uncompleted grade of the DSP&P.  However, there is another one without the fame of the others.

Tom and Denise Klinger point out in South Park's Gunnison Division Memories & Then Some that "About 1.3 miles upgrade from the Midway tank [on the route to the Alpine Tunnel], there is a small palisade."  In the 1880's photo below you can see a small consist posing for a portrait.  On our ride up the grade this past July, I was doubtful of being able to locate this spot, especially since the Klingers state that the "location was most difficult to locate and duplicate in 2011.  Trees have grown around the palisade and the earthen embankment has all but disappeared."  However, I wondered if there had been some clearing of trees as the spot in 2018 was now not too difficult to find.  I was able to climb down the downgrade embankment with a minor amount of sliding and "Be careful's" from my wife.

In retrospect, I wished I had planned the shot and tried to mimic the same level of the camera to get a before and after shot, but I'm too far down the embankment.

If one looks closely, I think the stones can be matched up between the two photos.  It appears that the top corner stone (close to the photographer) is now missing.  The two stones downgrade from this one are identifiable as well as the thinner stones beneath them.  I have a hard time identifying others, especially due to the differing angles.

Ed and Nancy Bathke Collection

The last train from Alpine Tunnel was in...1915?

We know that the last train through Alpine Tunnel was in the final months of 1910, but did any other rail car ride over those rails from Hancock to East Portal or West Portal to Pitkin?  If we don’t count whatever cars were used to dismantle the line in 1923-1924, there may have been a few others.

Today when you visit the Alpine Tunnel, you notice the ubiquitous presence of ATVs.  The former South Park railroad grades are quite the playground these days.  However, this is apparently not a new phenomenon.  The April 21st, 1915 Buena Vista newspaper records an entertaining, albeit dangerous, incident involving a party of individuals riding a push car from East Portal downgrade to Romley.

At least seven people, a mix of men and women, seem to have been enjoying the thrill of riding a push car starting from the tunnel, when the car got out of their control.  One man tied a rope to himself and the car and jumped, hoping to slow it down so that some others could jump more safely.  Several riders did take the leap, sustaining various injuries.  The human brake finally succeeded in stopping the car after dragging the hero a full mile.  Shockingly, he only sustained minor injuries.

Besides the particulars of this event, it suggests that riding a car on the grade was not an unusual occurrence.  The article starts out nonchalantly with the words, “While returning from a trip to Alpine tunnel Monday...” as if this was hardly a rare happening.  Also one passenger was a certain “Miss Worthington, a school teacher from near Chicago.”  Other passengers included the wife of a school superintendent and a couple with their daughter.  This not was not a bunch of hoodlum teens pulling a prank, but a load of respectable adult citizens.

Records and photos indicate that the scrapper ferried the rails downgrade from the east portal on a horse drawn sleigh because of the snow, so unlike his work on the western slope, he did not seem to have used a rail car for his graveyard work.

So, what was the last set of steel wheels on the steel rails of the eastern approach to Alpine Tunnel?  It’s very likely it was a push car on a thrill ride.

Source:
Edwards, Daniel W. A Documentary History of the South Park Line: Vol. 5: The Gunnison District, Part II, 2016.

Mysteries of Alpine - Part 1

Mysteries of Alpine

By Kurt Maechner

Dow Helmers, author of the definitive Historic Alpine Tunnel, named one of his chapters “Curse of Alpine.”  The eerie aura of four men who lost their lives working in the tunnel to the freak destruction of the town of Woodstock by an avalanche still hang in the air about the mountain.  Outside of these strange occurrences there are a number of mysteries concerning this route.  Having been abandoned long before fan trips and enthusiast visits, we are left with curious photos and the sketchy memories of those who worked the railroad to put pieces together.  I’d like to explore a few of these mysteries in a series of articles where I will attempt a bit of sleuthing to put together some answers to a few peculiar mysteries.

When you abandon a railroad you tear it up.  Look at the South Park and Clear Creek lines.  Within a year or so after abandonment the tracks were scrapped, hauled away to be melted down or used in mine shafts.  Yet, a perusal of photos of the line on either side of the Alpine Tunnel show tracks decades after abandonment.  To confuse the matter more, portions disappear at varying intervals. 

Mystery #1: The tracks of the South Park were torn up everywhere else after abandonment.  Why are there still tracks in the Alpine Tunnel to this day?  In addition, why were the tracks between Hancock and Pitkin still in place into the early 1920s? 

The tunnel was finally closed in 1910.  The reason given was: a small cave-in.  There are many who

question the significance of this cave-in.  Mac Poor states in his DSP&P book that “The cave in was not serious and could have been cleaned up; however, the management inferred that the damage was beyond repair.”  It may very well have been what the C&S management was looking for to convince the powers-that-be to allow them to finally discontinue service on this extremely expensive and operationally troublesome branch. 

However, the tracks weren’t pulled for another 13 years.  Why?  Poor states, "Due possibly to some legal stipulation incorporated in a mortgage, the rails between Hancock and Quartz were left intact for 13 years....In 1923, all the rail between these two points, with the exception of that between the east portal and a point about one mile beyond the west portal, was removed.”

In referring to this odd 13 year hiatus, Poor mysteriously uses the term “possibly” in reference to the mortgage conditions.  Yet, this is the only reference to this issue I have found in print.  Not being in the legal or mortgage profession, I would be curious to learn what kind of conditions would necessitate leaving rails down this long after abandonment. 

This unlucky number of years when the mighty Gunnison branch rails languished does explain at least one of our mysteries.  In 1923, “The C&S Engineering Department announced that due to some additional cave ins and a considerable amount of ice which had formed inside the tunnel during the 13-year period of idleness, they found it impossible to salvage any rail inside the bore." 

“Impossible” seems a bit unconvincing when you consider the plethora of reports from those who walked through the tunnel in the many decades after abandonment.  There was another reason those rails couldn’t be salvaged, or the ones down past the old engine house, but that mystery will have to wait for next time.  

PILGRIMAGE #1

When we turned off of US 50 at Parlin my heart began to race. I recall seeing a sign on the road with a cheesy train exiting a tunnel. It read “Gateway to the Alpine Tunnel.” After passing through Ohio City and Pitkin we found the dirt path off to the right where the roadbed began. Our white Ford Taurus rental car was certainly not designed for off-road adventures, and the rental company was adamant that it not be taken off paved roads, but my dad was an outdoorsman and we did it anyway.

We slowly rolled over several miles of rocky road and wound up some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen. We passed Tunnel Gulch tank, which was just a base, and then passed Midway tank. Midway tank was built after a snow slide destroyed the town of Woodstock and its water tank farther up the line. The Mile High Jeep Club restored Midway tank from a precarious leaning state in the late 1950s and it looked great on this summer day. We decided to park our car here and walk the last three miles.“The next three miles of roadbed are possibly the most amazing stretch of railroad in the world.” There was a sign somewhere along the way that stated the above and we were not disappointed.

We eventually came upon the ill-fated remains of the town of Woodstock. All that remained were the six stones that once supported the water tower (with its supply pipe still gushing water), and some scattered timbers. We looked up to our left where the deadly snow slide had originated and saw the incredible Palisades, still towering and formidable, holding up the roadbed on a cliff over a century after its construction. My dad and brother Karl, being the daring guys they are, decided to climb straight up the mountainside to reach it. Being the faithful baby of the family, I stayed with Mom and we began walking the grade toward Sherrod…until we heard screams.

Up above we could make out my father standing on the palisades waving his arms and yelling. What he was yelling we couldn’t make out, but it made us panic a bit, especially because we didn’t see my brother. Had he fallen? Had some wild bear attacked him?! We were relieved to see a Park Service pick-up truck coming up grade toward us. He asked if we wanted a ride and we accepted. I was disappointed when he took a sharp curve and completely avoided Sherrod loop. In my concern for my brother’s welfare, I even missed the fact that we had driven right over and past the famous Palisades. Disaster was averted when we came upon my dad and brother walking leisurely along the grade where the Williams Pass stage line continued its ascent above the railroad grade. We soon discovered that my dad had simply been trying to wave a hello from the Palisades, but his muffled words did not reach us. We thanked our driver and continued our stroll along the roadbed.

I did see a few remaining ties in the dirt and took a small piece of one with me as a souvenir. My dad found a large rusted nut and bolt that I also added to my treasury. Whether it was from a wrecked Mason Bogie or a beat up Chevy pick up I still don’t know.We wound our way along until we turned a bend and before us lay the holy city: Alpine Tunnel station.

It was guarded by a gate keeping vehicles out. It also sported a sign that read: “Take only pictures and leave only footprints.” In the mid 90s the only preservation efforts on the site (excluding the addition of a leaning port-a-potty) were to the telegraph station and the coaling platform. The engine house was merely rubble and the frame boarding house appeared to be a pile of abandoned lumber. I did acquire some coal dust from the coaling platform that I subsequently glued onto the tenders of my model trains back in Ohio.

There was also a random length of rail lying in the grass just outside the engine house. The telegraph office was in great shape, though it did not have the famous “Alpine Tunnel” sign on top. Inside was a small table where people had placed miscellaneous finds including nails and spikes that were on display.

We continued outside and around the rockslide for my first glimpse of Alpine Tunnel. As the roadbed began its cut into the hillside a large wood beam blocked the way. In its center was a wooden replica of one of the arches inside the tunnel. Famed supporter of the tunnel Francis Trudgeon had constructed the replica out of discarded wood and installed the memorial at the site. To the left of this was the the “tombstone” to the tunnel placed by Trudgeon, Dow Helmers and Mac Poor back in 1967. It was missing a significant portion of the top right corner. I’ve always wondered what broke it. Some say vandals, some say an avalanche.

The cut leading to the west portal was piled high with old snow shed timbers. It made things fairly difficult to walk through and I can understand why they were later removed. When I made it to the portal it was almost entirely buried by rock fall into the cut.

Someone had created a rectangle of discarded boards to protect the little of the stone archway that they could. When peering inside the rectangle you could see maybe four or five of the archway stones and there appeared to be a small hole leading down and to the left, large enough for maybe only an animal to scurry through. Unimpressive as this may sound, I on the other hand was amazed: I was really here! Holy ground! I was standing at the west portal of the Alpine Tunnel! The pilgrimage made a passion. And then came the storm.The sky was getting quite dark. I have since read the railroaders knew that the weather could change quite dramatically on this line; we were yet novices and were very concerned about the distance between ourselves and our car downgrade. We quickly made our way toward the station. I stopped to snap a picture of a piece of original South Park rail submerged in water beneath the snow sheds. I also passed the turntable, which was simply a mound of dirt with only two of the three timbers on the roadbed that used to form an abutment for the roadbed leading to the long-gone turntable.

I took one last shot of Alpine Tunnel station and turned to join my family as we made a mad dash to our car. In order to save time my dad decided that we should just walk down Tunnel Gulch. Thankfully, the weather seemed to subside eventually so we slowed our hustle to a hike. It was more like a climb considering we were traipsing through the woods without a path. Just before reaching our car we stumbled upon two or three decayed cabins. Were these old work camps? Finally, we hopped in our car and noticed: we were low on gas.We knew we could make it to Pitkin, so we weren’t too concerned. However, upon arriving at the one station in town we discovered a sign in the window that read: “Closed Mondays.” Of all the days of the week, you can guess which one it was.

So began a much retold story among my family. We turned the car on and accelerated to the top of the many rolling hills, then turned it off…and we rolled. The repeated dialogue went something like this. Mom: How’s the gas? Dad: Low. Mom: Keep rolling. So, we rolled all the way to Gunnison, gassed up and hit the motel. I had just experienced an adventure, a journey, a pilgrimage. That pilgrimage led to two more because this pilgrimage, the chance to see in person something I had only read about, turned into a passion.