Two attempts to reopen the route through the Alpine Tunnel

When the C&S closed down various lines, some communities rallied for a resumption of service. But did this ever occur after the closing of the route through Alpine Tunnel in 1910? Apparently, there were two such attempts.

The first happened in 1912. Since the Colorado Supreme Court was successful in getting the railroad to reopen service between Como and Breckenridge, some thought they could accomplish the same for the line between Como and Gunnison.

The Rocky Mountain News of Denver related a conversation between a Gunnison lawyer by the name
of D.T. Sapp and the C&S Vice President, A.D. Parker. The paper commented that “Sapp stated that Parker had said the C&S would not consider reopening the line from Como until arrangements could be made if possible for penetrating the continental divide at a lower altitude than the Alpine pass.”

The second attempt at forcing the hand of the C&S in this matter came two years later. In 1914 “A True Bill of Indictment was brought against the C&S for Non-feasance. This indictment was made for the failure of the railroad to operate its Gunnison branch in violation of its function as a public carrier.”

Nothing seems to have ever come of these attempts to my knowledge. The author Daniel W. Edwards comments that these “are the only references the writer has found indicating that efforts were made after 1910 to get the C&S to reopen the route through Alpine Tunnel to Gunnison.” (164)

Source: Daniel W. Edwards. A Documentary History of the South Park Line: Vol. 5. The Gunnison District, Part II, 2016. 164-165

Photo: Author's Collection