Sunday, July 25, 2021

The Georgetown Loop Railroad





Nestled in the Colorado mountains, near the upper end of Clear Creek Valley, at an elevation of 8,530 feet (2,600 m) is the narrow gauge Georgetown Loop RailroadThis spectacular stretch of 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad, built by the Georgetown, Breckenridge, and Leadville Railway was completed in 1884 and considered an engineering marvel for its time. The thriving mining towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume lie 2 miles (3.2 km) apart in the steep, narrow canyon in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver. Engineers designed a corkscrew route that traveled nearly twice that distance to connect them, slowly gaining more than 600 feet (183 m) in elevation. The route included horseshoe curves, grades of up to 4%, and four bridges that cross Clear Creek, including the massive 95-foot (29 m) high Devil's Gate High Bridge, seen in the upper right portion of the photo collage above.




Originally part of the larger line of the Colorado Central Railroad constructed in the 1870s and 1880s, in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush, this line was also used extensively during the silver boom of the 1880s to haul silver ore from the mines at Silver Plume. In 1893, the Colorado and Southern Railway took over the line and operated it for passengers and freight until 1938.  Ridership declined with the use of automobiles and the train line was closed and dismantled in 1939. Fortunately, the Colorado Historical Society gained ownership of the land and rebuilt and restored the railway in the 1980s to operate during summer months as a tourist railroad, carrying passengers.


Please click on to enlarge

More of the history of the railroad can be read on the placard above.

This was our third time riding the railroad. We first rode it in the fall of 2015 and that blog post can be read on this link.  We took our grandsons on the Georgetown Loop two years ago, and this weekend we took our two granddaughters.  All children seem to enjoy train rides and I think I enjoy it even more than they do!  My husband and I decided the next time we ride the Georgetown Loop Railroad we are going to add on a tour of the Lebanon Silver Minewhich can be accessed by a stop midway on the train line.



As you can see on the video above the train moves slowly and carefully when it is crossing the high Devil's Gate trestle.   The video link is here to watch it on YouTube if you are unable to view it above.



The train ride is about an hour and a half long...



...and passes such beautiful Colorado scenery! 

Our granddaughters enjoyed the ride very much and we loved spending this special time with them. As you can see in the photo collage above Clear Creek was running full. If you'd like to see two videos of the water flow in the creek click here to go to my Mille Fiori Favoriti Facebook page where I posted the videos. Make sure to have the video sound turned on in the videos to hear the rushing water! It was so refreshing. The weather in Georgetown was cooler than where we live on the front range and we enjoyed the break from the excessive 90 temperatures we've been having this summer.


I hope everyone is having a good summer and staying healthy and happy! Please remember that my e-mail blog notification will be going away soon if you have signed up to be notified on new blog posts that way.  The Feedburner free email service is discontinuing soon and I have not decided on a new email blog notification service.  You can follow me on Bloglovin as an alternative, or follow my blog's Facebook page as I post new blog posts there. Thanks so much!


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38 comments:

Angie said...

Pat - I love trains, one of the many reasons I volunteer at the Whitefish Historical Museum, housed in the 1927 Depot! I am so glad this railway was re-built and made available for grandparents and grandkids to enjoy! Fabulous scenes, and not for someone afraid of heights! Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday, and enjoy this last week of July!

eileeninmd said...

Hello Pat,
What a fun time with your granddaughters. The train ride looks wonderful, beautiful scenic views. Wonderful photos and post. Take care, have a great new week!

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

What amazing scenery to see while on that train ride!

Barbara Rogers said...

What a fun ride! I saw another train in the Rockies (didn't have time to ride it) a few years ago, from Durango, I think. Definitely good to get to cooler weather!

Jenna H. said...

That looks like so much fun! I am a huge sucker for trains - I really want to ride the California Zephyr across the US at some point!
Jenna ♥
Stay in touch? Life of an Earth Muffin

Janice said...

Beautiful scenes.

ellen b. said...

What a wonderful railroad loop. How nice that you could ride this train again. The scenery is so spectacular. Lovely photos and great info!

Rain said...

Lovely photos and a beautiful trip! I love old trains and train tracks!! :)

Lydia C. Lee said...

That scenery is fantastic! Thanks for joining in #Allseasons

Lydia C. Lee said...

And also back for #BlueMonday

William Kendall said...

Quite an experience.

betty-NZ said...

Great train images! We like trains a lot, too.

Ruth Hiebert said...

That looks like wonderful ride. The area is so scenic.

Fun60 said...

That looks a spectacular, scenic journey.

Jeanie said...

I think a ride like that would be such fun. I love the photos where you are going around the curve. It looks like such a terrific day, beautiful images, flowers, scenery -- and a perfect time with all!

stevebethere said...

What a fab fun trip loved the tour i would enjoy having a ride on that seeing all the views :-)

Have a choofchooftastic week Pat 👍

Carol @Comfort Spring Station said...

I love rides on old trains and the views of the mountains looks amazing

Yogi♪♪♪ said...

This looks like a fun and informative ride. Kind of scary going over that high bridge!! We've ridden the Durango narrow gauge several times and it's great but a shorter ride nowdays would be great.

Joanne said...

What fabulous views! We have only ever been on two train rides; one of which was a delicious dinner cruise but it was a rainy dark night and the views were obscured by fog.

Dawn said...

I love learning the history in other countries, I'm in the UK, old trains are fabulous to visit, although the video going over the trestle would be a step too far for me, I'm not good with heights, but the scenery looks breathtaking xxx

Shiju Sugunan said...

That train journey with such scenery is a delight. Great shots!

handmade by amalia said...

Gorgeous! Train is my favorite way to travel.
Amalia
xo

NCSue said...

http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2021/07/a-bit-of-saint-kitts.html

Suzy said...

I love train rides! great informative post.

diane b said...

We would love to ride on that train too but sadly too far away. The videos and photos are excellent and the scenery breathtaking.

Yvonne said...

Beautiful area. Glad you enjoyed the trip.

Jim said...

Beautiful.

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

It seems like we all love trains and the views are amazing on this one. It's my dream to ride a train again! Enjoy your afternoon my friend!

Spare Parts and Pics said...

I can see why this was considered an engineering marvel back in the day. Beautiful photos, and it looks like fun!

R's Rue said...

Beautiful scenery. I’d love to take a train ride. Thanks for sharing. I felt like I was there.
www.rsrue.blogspot.com

Jocelyn said...

So interesting!

Einari Sinappi said...

One helluva Ride! Thanks for taking me along. :)

Light and Voices said...

Greetings and Salutations! Agreed. What a ride! Beautiful country.

April J Harris said...

Thank you for sharing these gorgeous photographs, Pat! The Georgetown Loop looks like so much fun. I love my virtual visits to Colorado with you!

Thank you for sharing and for being a part of the Hearth and Soul Link Party. Have a wonderful weekend!

likeschocolate said...

What a wonderful adventure!
https://travelingbugwiththreeboys-kelleyn.blogspot.com/2021/07/auschwitz.html

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

What a grand outing that must be!

betty-NZ said...

I'm so glad you let us tag along on your journey! The scenery is gorgeous.

Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

What a perfect outing with your grandgirls! That train-ride really shows off the beauty of Colorado. Wonderful.