It was fun to find the following article from Colorado Central Magazine chronicling the ambitious plans that were just beginning over 20 years ago now. I am so grateful for the many of them that came to fruition. This article brings one sadness though: the failure of a plan to open a portion of the tunnel for visitors to see. I can only imagine the challenges that this plan would have presented and it surprises me that it even was considered. Still, it would have been thrilling!
There was another plan that I was not aware ever existed: to rebuild the boarding house. That would have been a sight to see!
Still, it's a pleasure to walk down memory lane and see what was afoot in the mid-1990s.
West Portal of Alpine Tunnel getting a facelift
July 1, 1994
Article by Kym O’Connell-Todd
Transportation History – July 1994 – Colorado
Central Magazine
At a little more than 11,500 feet above the
tides, a small wooden building leans into whistling tundra wind. Abandoned for
many years and left as a makeshift home to marmots and other mountaintop
squatters, the little depot still shares the snow-patched landscape with the
remains of the colossal Alpine Tunnel project that began 115 years ago.
After its closure in 1910 by the Colorado
& Southern Railroad (a corporate descendant of the Denver, South Park &
Pacific), it remained relatively undisturbed except by the few adventurers and
relic-hunters who braved the old railroad bed to timberline.
Then, in the 1960s, the historic tunnel
captured the attention of a Pitkin summer resident. Francis Trudgeon,
originally from Denver, set up the first road signs outside Pitkin to direct
visitors driving to the tunnel. His enthusiasm spread to the U.S. Forest
Service, and plans to restore the site slowly took shape over the next 30
years.
Ray Rossman, Gunnison zone heritage manager
and archæologist for the Forest Service, has directed that project for the past
two years. The plans include opening the tunnel’s west portal, providing a
full-time summer guide, replacing narrow gauge tracks and reerecting several of
the old buildings. According to the agenda, those plans are operating at full
steam.
Last summer, Rossman worked closely with the
Mile High Jeep Club from the Denver area whose members restored the 1890 depot
and telegraph station as well as a railside water tower. While other volunteers
removed some of the debris from the tunnel’s entrance, out-of-state visitors
often offered to pick up a shovel and help.
Although most of the work requires only a
willing back, parts of the project need the expertise of professionals.
Sometime in the coming weeks, a team from Texas A&M University will assess
the site and develop a master plan for renovation through digitized computer
graphics. Rossman hopes to restore chosen buildings to their original 1910
style and appearance.
Besides the already finished depot, he would
also like to see the two-story boarding house reconstructed within the next few
years. Rossman said it may be the wildest plan in the whole project — the
original boarding house collapsed in 1959 and now rests in a scattered heap
next to the depot.
A plan that isn’t so far off is relaying track
in front of the depot with authentic rails. So far, Rossman has collected old
rails from another narrow-gauge site, and has purchased newer ties that workers
will cut to the standard narrow gauge dimensions.
Since the Forest Service intends to focus on
the tunnel’s historic significance, Rossman has taken steps to secure a
full-time summer guide to educate the public when the road opens in mid-June.
“We’ve hired a full-time seasonal guide
starting this mid-June,” he said. “She and two volunteers — one from Arizona
and one from Wisconsin — will work as interpreters for the summer.”
In the meantime, the initial application for
the tunnel’s historical nomination is pending with the Colorado Historical
Society. Rossman’s application includes the 13 miles of railbed that extend
from the old townsite of Quartz, through the tunnel and into the old townsite
of Hancock.
The Woodstock townsite on the west side also
falls within the application, as well as 100 feet of ground on either side of
the bed. If the National Register grants historical status to the Alpine
Tunnel, Rossman hopes to turn the project over to a third-party organization
who can apply for state funding.
However, Rossman is only responsible for
renovations on the tunnel’s west portal. Any work done on the other side falls
into the jurisdiction of Chaffee County, and the Salida Ranger District has no
plans for historic preservation, signage or the like. As a matter of fact, the
east side doesn’t even belong to the Forest Service.
The old roadbed on the east side from Hancock
to the tunnel apex is owned by Jim Treat of Salida, who bought it years ago
after the county acquired the land for unpaid back taxes.
“Historic designation is certainly news to
me,” Treat said, “but I’d be willing to work with a railroad society or other
group to preserve the tunnel and its history.”
Treat doesn’t discourage trespassing along his
three miles, “but I can’t be liable if someone gets hurt,” and it’s an easy and
scenic hike.
Of the Forest Service work in Gunnison County,
the railroad bed that connects the tunnel with Pitkin will see a few
improvements to prevent damage. The bed now serves as a winding (and sometimes
harrowing) but scenic gravel access to the site.
Perhaps the most overwhelming of Rossman’s
responsibilities is clearing the tons of talus and broken beams from the tunnel
itself; safety is the key factor.
“The Forest Service hopes to gain entrance
into the tunnel so engineers can go in and see if it’s salvageable,” Rossman
explained. “If we can reopen the portal and part of the interior, we’ll
probably set up some type of barrier that will allow people to safely see the
inside of the tunnel.”
Maintaining the tunnel entrance will likely
continue as an ongoing challenge because of the frequent rock slides. Rossman
predicts the Alpine Tunnel’s restoration could take up to five years.
“Right now, we’re still looking at 80 year’s
worth of debris,” Rossman said. “But we have lots of dreams for this place.”
Kim O’Connell-Todd is a free-lance journalist
in the Gunnison Country.
