Publisher's Synopsis
A great adventure began in Colorado's mountains in the early 1870s with the whimper of a tiny train struggling up Clear Creek Canyon. By the 1880s, the boom in Colorado railroads was similar to the Internet boom of the 1990s; investors poured money into the latest railroad technologies. Today, Colorado is a mecca for the restoration and operation of historic railroads, attracting approximately 700,000 visitors and enthusiasts each year. This book explores the fascination these improbable railways inspire and transports readers back a century, providing the history of these unique railroads, the engineering that paved their way into the mountains, and the men who built and ran them. Along with sharp colour and historical photography, the book includes ideas for exploring Colorado's railroads; both the ghosts of long-gone trains that haunt the mountains and the restored trains whose whistles still echo off those granite peaks. It also contains a map showing the routes of over thirty Colorado railroads and a railroad directory, which lists contact information for thirteen operating passenger trains.
