Leyden
West of Denver, the railroad begins leaving the plains behind and heading toward the foothills.
The Moffat Road
A railroad pointed west
David Moffat had an ambitious idea: build a railroad directly west from Denver through the Rocky Mountains.
The Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railway began building west from Denver in 1903. The ultimate ambition was Salt Lake City, but between Denver and the country to the west stood the Continental Divide.
The railroad that became known simply as theMoffat Road would eventually give its name to one of Colorado's great railroad engineering projects.
The Rollins Pass Route
Over Rollins Pass
Before trains could go through the mountain, they had to go over it.
The line over Rollins Pass was intended as a temporary route while a tunnel through the Continental Divide could be financed and built. Instead, the spectacular mountain railroad remained an essential part of the route for more than two decades.
Steep grades, tight curves, high elevation and Colorado winter weather made the route difficult and expensive to operate. Snow sheds, rotary plows and constant battles with drifting snow became part of life on the hill.
The Moffat Tunnel
Through the Divide
In 1928, the railroad finally went through the Continental Divide instead of over it.
The 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel transformed the route. Trains no longer needed to make the long, difficult climb over Rollins Pass, eliminating roughly 23 miles of mountain railroad and making the crossing faster and far more dependable.
The old hill route was abandoned, but its grade, tunnels, cuts and other remains still trace the railroad's remarkable path across the mountains.