Ken,
According to Morris Cafky, The Colorado Midland was built without tie plates on untreated local ties.
It wasn't until the WWI era that A.E.Carlton began to rebuild portions of the Midland with treated oak ties, heavier Rail and tie plates.
This hurried initial construction and lack of upgrading is one of the things that Cafky attributes to the demise of the CM by order of the William McAdoo and the USRA. The CM, although the shortest route between Grand Junction and the Front Range, couldn't keep up with the War traffic due to the deferred maintenance of its right-of-way. Cafky claims that this it why it was ordered to abandon.
Rick