Georgetown Loop Railroad

Across the trestle

The other fun part of our belated Father’s Day weekend was a ride on the historic Georgetown Loop Railroad. I had thought that I had ridden on it years and years ago, but once we were on the train, it wasn’t familiar. It might have been one of those cases where we planned to go and then couldn’t get tickets or something.

An antique engine

I have been on multiple trains in Colorado (Leadville, Silverton-Durango), and I must say the Georgetown Loop is the least impressive. It is a very short trip and is so close to Interstate 70 that you never really can’t see the highway. 

The Interstate is part of the view

But Caty and I discussed it and felt that it would be an excellent trip for small children who might not be able to sit still for a longer ride.

The narrow-gauge train runs between Georgetown and Silver Plume, which are two miles apart. However, because it has a 640-foot elevation change and trains cannot handle that much of a grade in a short distance, the route is 4.5 miles long. Completed in 1884, it was considered an engineering marvel that included a corkscrew route with horseshoe curves, grades of up to 4 percent and four bridges across Clear Creek. 

Looking out the window

The impressive 95-foot-high Devil's Gate High Bridge curves as it crosses the river and over the railroad's own track. Even though this design minimized dangerous grades, it is still a but risky, with an 18-degree curve -- pretty radical for an elevated train. Most other trains that take a corkscrew approach to deal with grade use tunnels, not bridges.

It’s a round trip that you can take from either Georgetown or Silver Plume. You can also tour the Lebanon Silver Mine, which is along the route. We did not take the mine tour.

A stop on the river

Although the current route is fairly new, the original Georgetown Loop Railroad was one of Colorado's first visitor attractions. 

This is the best view

Originally part of a larger line of the Colorado Central Railroad constructed in the 1870s and 1880s during the Colorado Gold Rush, the Georgetown Loop was owned by the Georgetown, Breckenridge and Leadville Railroad that had been formed in 1881 under the Union Pacific Railroad. It was 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.

The line was dismantled in 1939, with all the track, trains and building sold to other railroad or for scrap. In the 70s, the town realized the error in this and decided to restore the route for tourism. That meant re-layng track and purchasing and refurbishing engines and train cars. The restoration was completed in the 80s to operate during summer months as a tourist railroad.

Coming into the station

As I said, the ride was short and traveled along the Interstate. But, it was pretty and the weather was gorgeous on the day we went. We rode on the open car so we could take pictures. The closed cars just don’t have enough windows!

It was a fun little outing, but nothing special.

Engineer

Trip date: June 22-23, 2018