We got busy early on Day 4 and it was COLD. There was little doubt that Leadville is over 10,000 feet. For comparison, our house in Spring is 90 feet. Our plan was to catch the early train from Leadville to Climax. After returning to Leadville, we would then head over to Minturn, get lunch at the Turntable, and spend the remainder of the afternoon exploring the line back to Leadville. I'm building an N scale model railroad of this historic section and have been pining to see the area for several years. Duane Cook, a fellow N Scaler that I met on TrainOrders.com, was in the area on one of his frequent fishing trips. So, we made plans to meet at some point this day.

However, as frequently happens on these trips, my plans fell apart when we arrived at the depot to find NO TRAIN. So, I moseyed inside and talked to the clerk. It turns out that the morning train is annulled after Labor Day and only the afternoon train operates. No idea how I missed that when I researched this trip. As I was heading back to the truck to discuss options with Michele, Duane approached me and introduced himself. We chatted for a few moments and he offered to take us up to Tennessee Pass and show us around. Duane's father was a Rio Grande man and Duane was one of a few fortunate souls that got to grow up trackside on the Rio Grande, on Tennessee Pass no less! What a life that must have been!

So, following Duane, we took off for Tennessee Pass. Once there, Duane got called away on personal business. Before leaving he pointed us in the right direction and off we went. The timing was bad and it was unfortunate. I would've loved to spend some time strolling around the pass hearing Duane's stories!

Please let me know if you find mistakes - RioGrandeDude  @ SmittysHouse.net

Walking into

Tennessee Pass Yard.

Looking South (Railroad East)

At long last, I'm standing in front of

the tunnel atop Tennessee Pass.

Peeking inside the shed across the from the CTC signals and relay box.

Walking towards the tunnel for a closer exploration.

Michele likes flowers. There will be many more photos later in the trip.

Me at the Pass. I've wanted to see this for a long time.

Up close and personal.

It was absolutely silent inside the bore.

Here's the site of the original tunnel. Rumor has it that

an L131 is buried in there. But, I have my doubts....

Driving over the summit.

West Portal of Tennessee Pass Tunnel.

Pando / Camp Hale

Crossing the Eagle River near Red Cliff. Because of EXTREMELY limited time we had to skip driving down into Red Cliff. I WILL be going back!

Another milestone, Minturn.

The Turntable restaurant. I've heard about this place for years. Rio Grande railroaders once ate here. The food was quite good, the service was charming, and the atmosphere was fantastic!

Tail of the Minturn Wye

Hmm... no trains have been here in a while...

Minturn Yard is a quiet, desolate place. The rails are still there...

waiting for a train that may never come...

It takes little imagination to see what it was once like here. We were treading on hallowed ground...

North

South

The former YMCA

Tail of the Wye

Limited time prevented us from driving over to the depot. So, we got these shots from across the yard. I WILL be going back!

The east end yard lead.

Looking east towards the pass.

Bidding a bitter farewell to Minturn we RACED back to Leadville to catch our train!

Belden

Red Cliff

Pando Yard

Pando / Camp Hale

Mitchell

Back in Leadville we hurriedly parked and got our tickets, boarding

just minutes before departure. I hate cutting these things so close!

The shots above were taken as we made our way east out of the yard.

The Colorado and Southern / Denver, South Park, and Pacific Roundhouse.

I need to go back and explore this area in more detail someday.

The view above the canyon is pretty spectacular!

The train is shoved up the hill

with the caboose leading.

Unbelievably, there are surviving C&S telegraph poles three quarters of a century after this narrow gauge was abandoned and this portion standard-gauged.

This telegraph system once ran all the way to Denver.

You can't see it in these photos, but at

least 2 cables are still strung!

144 miles west of Denver

We passed French Gulch Tank...

... and continued on about a half mile, stopping roughly a half mile short of the end-of-track (west of the Climax mine). There the engineer blew several long blasts on the horn and we listened for the near-perfect echo coming back from the canyon far below. I can only imagine how bone-chilling this must have been at night with a steam whistle from a narrow gauge South Park locomotive.

We then moved forward (we were backing on the way up) back to French Gulch Tank.

10,840' above sea level.

10,750' above our house!

The crew let us off to stretch our legs, get photos of the tank, and tour the cab of

the engine.

The cab of LC&S 1714

We scored tickets for the caboose on the return trip. And not only that, but we had the whole thing to ourselves! We checked in with the Brakeman (Brakewoman, actually) and she promptly left and closed the door. We never saw her again. I guess I look trustworthy!

It was quite a treat having our own caboose!

Tool display aboard

Caboose 1008

Michele in the Cupola

Riding on the rear platform by myself (with Michele in the cupola), I had plenty of time to daydream about what it must have been like to ride a South Park train from Denver, through Como and Breckenridge, and now be descending into Leadville as I was doing.

It's certainly not a bad way to spend an afternoon...

No doubt this was once

a narrow gauge line!

Base of a water tank?

Returning to Leadville.

Looking back towards the Roundhouse and Wye.

The track on the left was the interchange with the

DRGW yard.

C&S/DSP&P Freight House

This was the DRGW

Leadville Yard

Our "ride"

This is where the telegraph line terminated at the Depot

End of the Line on the ol' Denver, South Park & Pacific

Colorado & Southern #641

With limited daylight remaining, we decided to forgo returning to Tennessee Pass and Red Cliff. Instead we got some chow and made our way to Malta. Malta and Minturn will be the 2 end-points of my N scale Tennessee Pass layout. I got to explore both on the same day!

Looking east (south) at

the Malta yard lead

Looking west (north) from

the same spot

Remnants of the Past

The wye and junction for

 the Leadville Branch.

Malta Yard

Heading west from Malta to circle around to

Leadville Junction on the Colorado Midland grade.

Looking south from Leadville Jct. At this spot there was once a diamond crossing for the

 CM and DRGW.

Looking north from the junction. This is just north

of Malta Yard.

Driving along the Colorado Midland

main line towards Leadville.

Sunset from the back of the Columbine Inn

Thus ended another outstanding day in God's Country!