Re: New Alpine Tunnel

Theoretically, the four-mile tunnel instead of Alpine was possible - the Hoosac Tunnel, at 4.75 miles, had been completed in 1874. But, considering the cost and the traffic volume, it seems improbable that the DSP&P could have justified that kind of expense for the relatively small volume of traffic the line was anticipated to carry. Also, consider the operating issues. The smoke and gas problems in Hoosac made it a candidate for electrification early on. Smoke and gas were problems in the Busk - Ivanhoe tunnel, which at 9,394 feet, was a little under half the length of an estimated four mile tunnel.

The problem for the DSP&P, like the CM, was the lack of a western connection. The D&RG wasn't going to short haul itself if it could avoid it. The UP wasn't going to push the DSP&P any further than it had to. And, sad to say, by 1885, it was obvious that transcontinental traffic would move by standard gauge where possible to avoid the break in gauge. Once the Colorado Midland got under way, the D&RG really had no choice but to standard gauge its transcontinental portion, and the DSP&P would have had to do the same if it were still harboring transcontinental ambitions. With the UP in control, the DSP&P was going to remain strictly a local feeder.

Charlie Mutschler