Alpine Tunnel: The Problem of Clearance, part 1

part of a map from the VHS of the video inside the tunnel

Back in 1992, a group of people took a film crew into the Alpine Tunnel.  While I had seen many photos
of the tunnel’s abandoned interior, this video footage truly gave the sense of the tight inky blackness of being inside the fabled bore.  Yet, the narrow confines of walking the tunnel are no comparison to trying to operate full-sized narrow-gauge trains through it as a recent reread of a few pages of Colorado Annual 12 made clear.

A laundry list of problems plagued the Hancock to Quartz segment of the C&S including long stretches of 4% grades, long winters at altitudes above 10,000 feet, rock slides on the western side of the pass, and lack of sun to melt the snow on the east side along with much drifting of the dry snow.  The missing sunlight on the eastern slopes did, however, reach the higher mountain peaks creating slushy snow that eventually came down the mountain onto the track.  One other problem not related to grades or weather, though, was that of clearance in Alpine Tunnel itself.

A display mirroring the tunnel's arch

The Alpine Tunnel was a mere 14 feet high above the rails.  This left just a little over a foot of distance to the ceiling above many locomotive smoke stacks and roughly 24 inches above boxcar brake wheels.  By comparison, these clearances were two or more feet smaller than those of most snowsheds on the line.  The width was similarly tight: 2 1/2 feet less in width than other C&S bridge structures or snowsheds.

One quickly wonders what brakemen who were needed on the top of cars to turn the brake wheels were to do in this circumstance, particularly considering that eastbound trains had the double danger of going downhill once passing the apex of the tunnel and then facing a sharp 24-degree curve just outside of the east portal.  Since the tops of high cars was out of the question due to the height restriction, brakemen chose to find two gondolas with brake wheels on adjoining sides.  This allowed them to do what is called “double brakes” (though, this didn’t keep them from the inevitable smoke inhalation of the belching locomotives).  Still, many trains exiting the east portal were out of control.  It could take all three miles from the tunnel to Hancock to finally stop a train.  Of course, some were not so lucky and left the rails.

A westbound train at the west portal station. 
From Historic Alpine Tunnel by Dow Helmers

Part 2 of this exploration will be posted in the next few days.

Morrison's railroad history and re-laid track

 Back in 2024 Morrison, the first major DSP&P destination, celebrated its sesquicentennial. A video of the celebration does a wonderful job of telling the town's history. In particular, it honors the South Park Line and you'll see railroad history throughout the video (There's even a man impersonating David Moffat). Check out the 10:38 mark and you'll see some more railroad history as well as a shot of the restored track in town that was dedicated that day.

Interpretive Signs at Alpine Tunnel

 I just found an old video by the organization that installed the excellent interpretive signs from Quartz to the West Portal of Alpine Tunnel. They mention their work there briefly in the video. 

The work was dedicated in the spring of 2013.

The group's name was the Interpretive Association of Western Colorado. Unfortunately, it seems the group is no longer around, or at least its website is no longer functioning.

C&S refrigerator car and boxcar at Magic Mountain 1959

 In 1959 Magic Mountain opened in Colorado. It was a theme park styled after the stunningly successful new Disneyland. In keeping with Disneyland's design they constructed a narrow gauge train ride. To get narrow gauge rolling stock the park reached out to Bob Richardson who was in the process of moving equipment from the original Narrow Gauge Museum in Alamosa to the new Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.

In a heartbreaking but financially prudent move  to raise money for the fledgling museum’s new building,   the museum sold two of its C&S cars, refrigerator 1116 and boxcar 8308, to Magic Mountain along with Rio Grande Southern engine 42, D&RGW high side gondola 1187,  and RGS caboose 0409  for use on the tourist-hauling park train. 

In the video below you can see glimpses of this train starting at 1:31.

The pocket book was tight and unfortunately these pieces of C&S lore filled the needy coffers.  Still, Bob appreciated  that the cars were given a chance to do what they were designed to do: haul cargo on steel rails, albeit human cargo this time.  To do this, though, unlike the RGS engine, the cars lost most of their historic appearance and design in the process of being turned into smaltzy open-air theme park pieces.   Much of the two C&S cars’ half-century old character was destroyed as everything but their frames and running gear were ripped out and discarded, only to be replaced by seats and rider car shells. 

Sadly, Magic Mountain closed up in less than a year. The cars moved around many times, even becoming part of a restaurant at the site. 

Today, 1116 still operates on the Georgetown Loop. 8308's frame and trucks are at the Colorado Railroad Museum.

Saving the Alpine Tunnel Historic District in 1994

 In April of 1994 Ray Rossman, East Zone Heritage Resource Manager for the U.S. Forest Service in Gunnison, filled out an important document that helped set in motion the tremendous restoration and historical work done to the Alpine Tunnel district.  That document was the "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form."  It was "for use in nominating or requesting determination for individual properties and districts."  I discovered this form online here.

In the form, Rossman names the stretch "along DSP&P railbed from Quartz to Hancock" as the "Alpine Tunnel Historic District."  The area is spelled out more specifically later as
"from the bridge crossing Chalk Creek at the Hancock townsite to the intersection of the railbed with the Cumberland Pass Wagon Road within the townsite of Quartz."  Also, "The boundary runs 100 feet on either side of the railbed centerline for approximately 13.8 miles.  Three hundred feet of the former Atlantic rail spur northwest of the east portal.  The district also includes the historic trail over Altman Pass."

The form is quite extensive, including a narrative description, a map, topographical details, a list of contributing and noncontributing structures and sites, a statement of historical, engineering, transportation, and informational significance, geographical data, present property owners along the route, and a photograph log (with accompanying photos).

It is an interest document to peruse.  I include below a few interesting excerpts with a few notable points in bold:

Alpine Tunnel station/telegraph office

The Mile-Hi Jeep Club recently restored the [Alpine Tunnel telegraph office] and removed the extension. The only deviation from the original construction is the replacement of the tar paper roof with steel roofing material. The building retains its historic integrity, is the best preserved structure at the station complex, and is a contributing building in the district.

Outhouse

"A two-hole outhouse/privy is located 35 feet west of the boarding house. The building has partially fallen over. This was the second outhouse constructed. Photographic evidence suggests the original structure was located directly west of the front entrance of the engine house."

The Storage Cellar

"A covered storage cellar is located 20 feet south of the boarding house. Entrance was gained though a covered walkway that extended from the front porch of the boarding house. Today the structure has lost its metal roof and the stone walls are leaning inward."

The Coaling Platform

"Forty feet south of the cellar are the standing timbers of a 16'x 32' coaling platform. Coated by creosote, the structure has remained in good condition. The eastern side has shown the most deterioration. The structure contributes to the district."

Future Plans (includes rebuilding the boarding house!)

"Future management plans for the Alpine Tunnel Station complex calls for the restoration of the coaling platform, outhouse and storage cellar. The ultimate goal calls for the restoration of the facility to its 1910 configuration including the rebuilding of the two story wooden boarding house."

Tunnel Gulch Water Tank

About a half mile downgrade a new water tank, the Tunnel Gulch water tank, was built after the avalanche. The Tunnel Gulch water tank. This structure was stabilized and restored by the Mile High Jeep Club. The tank is one of the best examples of the typical water tanks used along the South Park rail system. The structure contributes to the district."

The Tunnel Interior

"The interior, though not easily accessible, remains in moderately good condition. There are two minor rock falls and a major tunnel collapse within the tunnel. The most significant is a 300-350 foot section which collapsed and completely sealed off the eastern portal. The western portal, faced with locally quarried hand-cut granite stones, has been covered by talus debris and has suffered only minor damage. Several support beams throughout the tunnel have also collapsed. In addition, a white mold covers some of the interior redwood timbers. The original rails and ties extend the length of the tunnel. These rails represent the only portion of the entire DSP&P rail system that remains intact. Water covers a portion of the railbed at both ends where the tunnel is sealed off. The snowsheds that protected both portals have totally collapsed and decayed. The east portal was constructed directly into solid granite and required no external facing. The tunnel is a contributing structure in the district."

The Stone Section House

"The stone section house was an "L" shaped structure built in 1881. It functioned as the original boarding house for the assigned complex crew members. The initial construction measured 55'x 30' and had a 25'x 16' addition added to the northeast corner prior to 1896. The corner, window, door and sill stones are of native hand-cut granite. The walls were constructed with random sized native stone material. Based upon photo evidence this facility was abandoned by 1896. Today only foundations and segments of the lower walls remain visible."


More gems can be found throughout the document.

Curiously, there is a stamp on this document stating that it was received in 1996.  That is a roughly two-year gap between when Rossman completed it and it was received.  I'm not sure why this is.

Also, here is an interesting photo of a culvert in the form that I didn't know about.

Happy Easter! Born Again on the C&S

 In 1972, the song that would later become one of the state songs of Colorado, hit the airwaves. John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High” was a biographical tune containing the lines, “He left yesterday behind him; you might say he was born again.”

Denver’s reference to “born again” was a tip of the hat to what came to be called the Jesus Movement, a generation of young, often long-haired hippies who eschewed both the sex and drugs culture of the 60s and 70s as well as the stodgy nominal church life of many of their parents. Instead, they discovered that to follow Jesus was a radical new life, akin to begin “born again,” a phrase Jesus Himself used when he explained to a seeker that eternal life is life that begins not in Heaven, but now, at the point of following Him.

On this Easter Sunday, when many of us celebrate that Jesus conquered death, making a way for us to be “born again,” it is a delight to see a symbol of this new life in a tiny railroad that has been experiencing many rebirths lately. It might be a stretch to call it a symbol, but I’d like to believe the Lord looks kindly on a our meager attempts to resurrect that which was lost.

One can't think of the C&S these days without considering the resurrection in Como. The Como depot, as just one example, was long dead not that long ago. The only thing left was to finally fall over in one of those characteristic South Park winds. 

But death was not the end-of-the-line for the depot. 

I took this photo in 2004 (with a superimposed image of a train at the same location in operation days). I never would have believed that this historic station would rise again. 

But here it is. Alive again. A foretaste of the Day when He will make all things new.

Happy Easter! He is risen!

I made the following video in 2018, so much, much more resurrection has happened since then, but it's still a great testimony to the hard work of the DSP&P Historical Society and the South Park Rail Society (and all the countless volunteers)

Check out my book Colorado & Southern Narrow Gauge Revival. 

Discovered! The end-of-track after Alpine Tunnel dismantling

 I've always wanted to find the spot where the rails left behind after the 1923/1924 dismantling work stopped. Using Google Earth I was able to pinpoint the spot.

I matched up the below screenshot from Google Earth with one of the photos of the end-of-track and then placed a pin on the DSP&P overlay on Google Earth. I was particularly trying to line up both a turn to the right of the roadbed, a rocky embankment on the right, and a similar background of the mountain contour and trees.

June 24, 1956 R.H. Kindig photo from Tom & Denise Klinger's Gunnison Memories and Then Some

While there is one more right turn (just before the track would straighten out for the Alpine Tunnel station complex), the mountains look a bit too close when viewed on Google Earth. It also doesn't seem to match the rocky bank on the right as well as the spot I chose.

Check out my book Colorado & Southern Narrow Gauge Revival.