Abbott expressed, “I was lucky the firefighters had what it takes. In the 1980s, it was documented this tunnel “is in an advanced state of deterioration,” has a “very irregular geometry,” and “much of the surface rock structure, around the portals, was damaged and weakened during construction by the excessive use of explosives in blasting.” At 11,350 feet above sea level, extreme freezing and thawing in rock fractures occurs, further accelerating the weathering process, and “the centerline of the tunnel is essentially parallel to the joint sets in the rock, which tends to create a weakened surface condition.” Unfortunately, tunnel restoration errors led to a partial collapse, resulting in a below-knee amputation of assistant fire chief Tom Abbott in 1990. Rehabilitating the tunnel triggered the Section 106 process, as any actions or proposed alterations must be federally reviewed. Significant rockfalls occurred at the northeast portal of Needle’s Eye Tunnel by 1949 as well as in 1979, closing the route for nearly a decade for three different studies, engineering design, and finally rehabilitation work. Why did Rollins Pass close as a motorized vehicle thoroughfare? Services otherwise satisfactory.” Crane was hired and worked as an engineer and fireman on Rollins Pass. Dan Crane, a former Santa Fe Railway worker, came to Moffat with papers, “Discharged for insubordinating the road foreman of engines and drinking intoxicating liquors to excess. Moffat hired youth with youthful indiscretions. Moffat’s first-class treatment of his mountain men guaranteed they gave him their very best as well. When Moffat’s investors were riding in his private railroad car, Marcia, Moffat insisted that his workers ate before anyone else. Railroad workers recalled that he would regularly chat with them in the crew compartment of the locomotive, as the train moved from town to town. Moffat’s leadership style was atypical of a company president-past or present. Moffat himself was a warm, larger-than-life character who was never too busy to listen and lend assistance whenever possible a man like this becomes legendary and begets legends. was born on Monday, July 22, 1839, in Washingtonville, New York. The use of the correct name is also a safety issue: avalanche bulletins and news articles make reference to ‘Rollins Pass’ only.ĭavid Halliday Moffat Jr. In fact, the name “ Corona Pass” does not exist in the official federal government geographic nomenclature-only Rollins Pass. Area author Frederick Bauer bluntly wrote, “ incorrectly called Corona Pass by neophytes and some locals.” Rollins Pass is the official name used by the US Geological Survey and is also the name officially recognized by the US Board on Geographic Names. Today, Grand County refers to the pass by this appellation almost exclusively. Mountain passes are not customarily named for their apex stations: Fremont Pass, not Climax La Veta Pass, not Fir and Rollins Pass, not Corona. The railroad station at the summit was named Corona, consequently Corona Pass is a variant name used by the railroad for tourism purposes. Boulder Pass was the original name, which later became Rollins Pass, named after John Quincy Adams Rollins. Besides coal, mixed manifests from both UP and BNSF plus Amtrakï¾’s California Zephyr make a daily appearance.Rollins Pass has been known by several names. The steep mountain grades require additional locomotives in the middle and rear of eastbound coal trains, creating a fantastic show of horsepower. Cresting the Rockies at over 9,000 feet, this is the highest active mainline in North America.Ĭoal traffic is king on the Moffat Tunnel Sub, with loaded trains heading east to Denver and empties returning west. Watch trains wrap around Big Ten Curve, climb through the rugged Tunnel District, and disappear under the Continental Divide through the famous 6.2 mile-long Moffat Tunnel. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we will cover the east side between Denver and the Moffat Tunnel. Part of Union Pacific's Denver Area, this former piece of Denver and Rio Grande Western track is known as the Moffat Tunnel Subdivision. Although he never lived to see its success, this stretch of track was instrumental to the growth of Colorado and remains a busy main line today. Denver businessman David Moffat spent his entire fortune building this engineering marvel. In Central Colorado where the Great Plains meet the Rockies, trains battle a short, stiff grade to the Continental Divide.
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