Re: Colorado Midland and Midland Terminal Railroads

There are a good many books about both the Colorado Midland and the Midland Terminal, the CRRM would be a good place to look for some of them.

The CM ran from Colorado Springs to a short distance past Glenwood Springs and obtained trackage rights from the Rio Grande into Grand Junction. The CM ran until abandoned and scrapped in 1921. West of Leadville, the CM crossed the Continental Divide at Hagerman Pass, once the highest standard gauge railroad pass in the US. The Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel was built lower down the mountain to bypass Hagerman Pass. That's quite a story in itself.

The MT was a separate railroad built to haul gold ore from the Cripple Creek District to mills near Colorado Springs. The MT ran from Cripple Creek to Divide, then shared track with the CM to Colorado Springs. The MT lasted until 20 Feb 1949. Today's Cripple and Victor 2-foot gauge tourist operation track is laid on the original MT grade part way from Cripple Creek toward Victor.

Both railroads were standard gauge. Very little, if any equipment from either exists today, other than the MT/CM coach/observation car at the CRRM that Brian mentions above. There are some depots and other structures scattered along the rights-of-way as well as a few decaying car bodies. Some of the five CM 300 series 2-8-0s survived in Mexico as late as 1957.

Hope this helps.

Ed

Ed