By Melissa Trenary
Although the Colorado Midland Railway was relatively short lived and riddled with financial difficulties from the start, it was probably one of the most important rail lines in southern Colorado.
Colorado Midland Railway locomotives 18 and 20 double-head a six car passenger train near Green Mountain Falls (Teller County), Colorado.
In the early 1880s, Colorado Springs resident and founder of the Colorado Midland, Homer D. Fisher, owned and operated a sawmill a few miles north of Woodland Park. The cut lumber was hauled by mule trains to the budding towns of Colorado Springs and Colorado City down the steep and rough Ute Pass trail. Fisher came up with the idea of building a standard gauge railroad that would follow the 1860’s wagon road up through the pass into Hayden Divide, across South Park into Leadville and then on over the Continental Divide.
On Nov. 23, 1883, Fisher took the first steps toward turning his dream into a reality when the Articles of Incorporation for the Colorado Midland Railway Company were filed with the Secretary of State’s office. The railroad would remain just an idea on paper for the next two years due to lack of funding.
In the summer 1885, the directors of the Colorado Midland elected James J. Hagerman as president. He quickly set about getting the rail line off paper and under construction. Financing was still an issue, so Hagerman decided to begin with the Glenwood Springs and Aspen to Leadville portion first, the idea being that monies earned from hauling ore and coal would finance the eastern leg from Colorado Springs westward.
At this time, the Denver and Rio Grande and the Union Pacific railroads pretty much had the monopoly on transportation up through South Park into Leadville. The thought of a competing standard gauge line horrified them. Because the Colorado Midland would need them to haul materials for construction, they attempted to stop the new railroad by doubling their freight rates.
The Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel on the Colorado Midland Railroad ran for nearly 2 miles through the Sawatch Range under the Continental Divide. This is the east entrance (the Busk end) of the tunnel today. For safety reasons, it has been blocked off since the 1930s. Four wheel drive enthusiasts can still travel over the Hagerman Pass on the former railroad bed. Photo courtesy of Melissa Trenary
Hagerman was mad, but he did not let the increased shipping rates stop him. He sought out and received financing through former associates back East and in Europe. Construction from Leadville westward got underway in June 1886. More than 1,000 men were working to build the steep grade up over Hagerman Pass and boring a 2,060-foot tunnel under the Sawatch Range across the Continental Divide.
Work on the Eastern Division began in the late fall 1886. By March 1887, line had been laid as far as Hayden Divide, 25 miles west of Colorado Springs. A portion of this construction involved boring eight tunnels up through Ute Pass. The 300-man crew pushed hard, laying down a mile of track a day. On July 13, 1887, the first regular train service from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista began. A month and a half later, the tracks rolled into Leadville. By November, the line was complete all the way to Aspen Junction (Basalt).
From the beginning, the Colorado Midland had been expensive to operate. Especially the leg from Leadville to Basalt. The steep grades over Hagerman Pass required extra engines. Heavy snows from November to March wreaked havoc on the line. As many as six engines were sometimes tied up pushing the rotaries through. Less than a year into full operation, the railroad began looking for a location to push another tunnel through the Sawatch Range at a lower elevation.
The surveys showed that the best location for this tunnel would be from the Busk Siding on the east side through to Ivanhoe Loch on the west end. This 1.78-mile tunnel would cut nearly 10 miles off the trip and all but eliminate the risk of trains being trapped on the pass in impassable blizzards.
Rather than take on additional debt to finance the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel, the Colorado Midland formed the Busk-Ivanhoe Construction Company. They also thought investors would be more apt to put money into a separate company rather than put money into a railroad that was rarely operating in the black. Upon completion of the tunnel, the Busk-Ivanhoe Co. would continue to operate and maintain it. The Colorado Midland would pay a toll of 25 cents per passenger and 25 cents per ton of freight carried through.
The Colorado Midland had been burdened with financial troubles from the start. Despite heavy freight and passenger traffic, the railroad could never quite get out of the red. They sold out to the Santa Fe in 1890 in hopes of increasing returns to investors. But the Santa Fe had troubles of its own. The silver panic of 1893 put both railroads further into debt, and they went into receivership in December of that year.
George W. Ristine was appointed receiver of the Midland, and under his direction, the line appeared to be making a comeback. The reopening of the mines at Leadville and Aspen along with increased summer tourism traffic gave the railroad hope. Unfortunately, the weight of heavy mortgages coupled with decreased traffic during the Leadville miner’s strike in 1896 was more than they could handle. Foreclosure of the Colorado Midland was ordered in May 1897.
The foreclosure sale was held in September of that year and Denver attorney Henry T. Rogers picked up the entire rail line for a mere $295,000. Rogers was able to get the Colorado Midland back on its feet. Over the next 10 years, the Colorado Midland operated mostly in the black. This prosperity would not last.
The closing of the lime quarries and ovens at Thomasville along with the loss of the Cripple Creek ore freight in 1911 marked the beginning of the end for the Colorado Midland. By 1917, the railroad was once again in foreclosure. An attempt was made to reorganize the company, but the money could not be raised and the decision was made to sell off all the assets for scrap.
Cripple Creek shipping magnate, Albert E. Carlton, stepped up and purchased the entire railroad at the auction. He did not want to see the rail line go to scrappers. He set about attempting to reorganize and improve the railroad. His first step was to return the gold ore traffic to the Midland Terminal Railway, which used a 23-mile section of Colorado Midland’s rails from Colorado City to Divide. Carlton also stepped up the coal traffic.
In December 1917, President Woodrow Wilson formed the United States Railroad Administration, whose purpose was to regulate all rail traffic throughout the country. Carlton campaigned hard and was awarded the contract for the movement of war supplies through Colorado. It was looking like the Colorado Midland would finally get back on its feet. But as hard as Carlton worked to make improvements and expansions to the line, the work was not done on time and the contract was pulled.
The loss of the government contract proved to be the final blow for the Colorado Midland. In 1918 Carlton received permission to permanently dismantle the railroad. The Colorado City to Divide portion was sold off to the Midland Terminal. The remaining 200 miles of line were abandoned and finally dismantled by 1921. The state of Colorado purchased the easements for what would eventually become Hwy 24.
Today, traveling along Hwy 24 from Manitou Springs to Leadville, one can still see portions of the original rail bed, tunnels and several surviving stations along the way. Four-wheel drive enthusiasts are able to navigate the route of the Colorado Midland west of Leadville up over Hagerman Pass.
