Re: Was the Georgetown Loop a poor engineering design?

GeorgeGaskill Wrote:
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> There was speculation soon after the loop was
> originally built that it could have been routed in
> a different fashion at lower grades, easier
> curvature and a number of other improvements. I
> am away from my books so I can't quote the exact
> details.

"... it is the opinion of good engineers that the better route would be to start from Georgetown and run down to Union Pass, on the mountain side, and thence back along the side of the mountain to Silver Plume. This route would be comparatively straight and as it would be at least six miles long the average grade would be reduced to 100 feet per mile (2%). The large sum paid for land damages, the expense of bridges, the diffculty in winter and the snail-like rate that will be necessary on the other route, will all be avoided; in fact, the roadbed on the mountainside would cost less and be worth much more when completed."

-Georgetown Couurier, 1882 as quoted in CRA #10, p. 79

hank