Day 97: #SunriseProject
July 1, 2020
Sunrise: 5:38am MDT
Photo taken from Corona Pass in Winter Park, Colorado at 6:36am MDT.
Remnants of a trestle bridge.
Back in the day (think late 1800s), there was this guy, David Moffat, who was kind of pissed that all the railroads skirted around the up-and-coming metropolis of Denver.
You see, it was way easier to get around the mountains to the north and south. Why the heck would they want to build something over miles of rough terrain here?
Well, Moffat was determined to establish a railroad over the mountains, so like all pioneers back then, what did he do? He found a trail traversing the Continental Divide THAT HAD BEEN BUILT BY THE UTE INDIANS and said, “This! This is PERFECT.”
(Mind you, by this time, the Utes had already been pushed off their lands in Middle Park to Southwestern Colorado so there was nothing really standing in Moffat’s way.)
Moffat starts building the railroad in1904 and finishes it the following year. This route is supposed to be temporary as Moffat’s BIG dream is to dig a huge tunnel through the mountains. Since he couldn’t steal the Utes homework this time, he was going to have to figure this one out on his own.
Moffat tries to raise money for the tunnel, but another railroad tycoon thwarts Moffat’s efforts because the last thing this dude wants is a transcontinental railroad running from Denver to Salt Lake City to the ocean, stealing away business from him.
Super-burned out from all of this drama, Moffat dies in 1911.
But in 1922, the Colorado legislature approves funding for the tunnel and construction starts in earnest.
In 1928, the 6.2-mile Moffat Tunnel opens, exponentially reducing travel time over the mountains and making this trestle bridge obsolete.
