Hagerman Tunnel and Platte River Road (2012)

Written by ceddammit

OMG! It’s that time again. Where do the Fridays through Wednesdays go? And why do they move so fast? We may never know. What I do know is that on Thursdays I am able to transport you, gentle readers, to other points in space and time. On this particular Thursday (that’s today, for those who aren’t keeping track), we are traveling back to June 2012 to hike the Hagerman Tunnel Trail. This trail leads to a railroad tunnel (completed in 1887), following the abandoned railroad grade for a good portion of the trip. This tunnel allowed trains to travel between Leadville and Aspen, Colorado. But it was abandoned a mere 12 years later. Y’see, Hagerman Tunnel was the highest railroad tunnel in the world when it was completed, at an elevation of 11,528 feet. Deep snow and/or high winds presented the Colorado Midland Railway with year-round difficulties, so it was replaced with a lower altitude tunnel in 1899. And that lower tunnel is where we begin today’s voyage.

The lower tunnel is nearly two miles long. It was originally named the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel, but has since been renamed Carlton Tunnel. It, too, has been abandoned by the railroad. It now serves as a water tunnel, routing water from western Colorado to the more heavily populated eastern part of the state.

East portal of Carlton Tunnel
Looking into Carlton Tunnel
Looking into Carlton Tunnel
Old railroad tie plates with plants of the genus Potentilla, I think.
They pulled out lots o’ rock to make a two-mile tunnel. And here ’tis.
I was struck by the bright green moss growing in the water coming from the tunnel. Literally struck – it punched me in the genitals.
East Portal of Carlton Tunnel, Colorado, USA (Photographed June 20, 2012)

That wasn’t part of the hike. We actually have to drive a little further up the road from the lower tunnel to reach the actual trailhead. Okay, NOW we’re at the trailhead to begin our hike to the upper tunnel.

This is one of those hikes that I went on just for the history of it. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be one of the most scenic hikes I’ve ever done! So, I have no captions or comments for this next set of pictures. Just relax and enjoy the views…

Scenery along old Colorado Midland Railway grade, Colorado, USA (Photographed June 20, 2012)

Alrighty, folks, we are about to begin encountering historic remnants. Resuming interpretive captions in five…four…three…

I loved this funky zig-zag rock crack.
Here, the old railroad ties can still be seen embedded in the ground.
Spruce/fir forest. In this area, that means we’re @ 10,000 – 11,000 feet.
Railroad grade ends in mid-air. A HUGE trestle started here.
This was the most intact remnant of HUGE trestle 113 years post-abandon.
At trestle’s end, trains entered this rock cut, now occupied by forest.
Strange protruding rock in the cut
Looking east-ish to the appealingly named Mosquito Range.
Snowshed remnants just outside the east portal of the upper tunnel.
In addition to the snow and wind, it looks like they had to deal with ice…
……and giant rocks falling in around the entrance.
These railroad ties may have been 125 years old when photographed!
Another view of the Mosquito Range
I’m not sure what this was, but it was probably part of a snowshed.
Width of this cut indicates Colorado Midland was standard gauge.
This was the most impressive rock cut I encountered along this trail.
Snowshed remnants block one end of this rock cut., so trail bypasses it.
This was one end of a second, now non-existent trestle.
Weird tree
Scenery along old Colorado Midland Railway grade, Colorado, USA (Photographed June 20, 2012)

On the way up to Hagerman Tunnel, the trail leaves the railroad grade for a while and travels up an old wagon road. The wagon road goes through the remains of Douglass City, a town built specifically to house the workers who built this railroad. Here’s some of what was left in June 2012:

This was likely a foundation for a large piece of machinery. Boiler, perhaps.
This foundation also likely had a boiler mounted on it.
For some reason, this old utility pole now holds loads of old metal rings.
Another utility pole, amidst scenery
Various metal junk that’s been laying around for at least 113 years.
More old metal scraps left behind by the railroad workers.
Another old utility pole. This one has passed out.
The remains of two old structures
This may have been a semi-tent; i.e., log base, with canvas walls and “roof”.
Lookin’ out the front door
The grade approaching Hagerman Tunnel rises above the remains of a brick building.
Inside one of the buildings; old wood floor is being overtaken by the forest.
Douglass City, Colorado (Photographed June 20, 2012)

The next few pics were taken after the hike, at Turquoise Lake, just west of Leadville. Once again, I have no comments and/or wise-ass remarks, so just enjoy the scenery:

Turquoise Lake, near Leadville, Colorado (Photographed June 20, 2012)

Whew! What a day! But we’re not through yet. Let’s go back another month, to May of 2012, and take a road trip across the western Great Plains! On this occasion, I was driving home from Kearney, Nebraska to Lakewood, Colorado. I decided at the spur of the moment to “take the long way home”, that being US Highways 30 and 138, rather than the interstate highways that run parallel to them. I took these pictures of interestin’ stuff I saw along the way. I also took pictures of SEVERAL historical markers. If any of you would like to read all the historical markers, let me know, and I can send ya those pics. Now, without further ado, let’s hit the road!

Old souvenir shop on US Highway 30, just west of Kearney, Nebraska.
I am told this place was called “The Covered Wagon”
I tell you whut! Them there’s some big dang livestock!
An abandoned something-or-other in the beautifully named Darr, Nebraska
The clouds were doing weird things that day.
More cloud weirdness, though it’s not as obvious from this angle.
One of Nebraska’s fabled “Minimum Maintenance Roads”.
Scenes along US Highway 30, southwestern Nebraska (Photographed May 25, 2012)

Now, we switch from Highway 30 to Highway 138, and almost immediately cross the state boundary into Colorado. One measly mile from the border, situated squarely in what a geographer would have to call Nebraska’s Armpit (seriously, look at it on a map), we arrive at the Colorado town of Julesburg. The 2020 Census claimed there were 1,307 people living in Julesburg, but the stretch of Highway 138 that serves as the town’s (apparent) main drag has the feel of a ghost town. Take a look:

Old Packard at a roadside garage in Julesburg, Colorado
The old Packard again
The hood ornament represents either a space ship or a wheelbarrow.
An old railroad station at Julesburg, Colorado
This was indeed a UP station.
Back of the railroad station
Old fire truck at a roadside garage in Julesburg, Colorado.
Julesburg, Colorado, USA (Photographed May 25, 2012)

Leaving Julesburg behind, we continue to the town of Ovid, where we find a huge, abandoned sugar mill. Everybody knows that sugar comes from sugar cane, which can only grow in warmer, wetter climates than northeast Colorado. But before it became economically viable to haul sugar all over the country, sugar had to come from more local sources. Enter the sugar beet! Well, no, don’t actually enter it. You probably won’t fit. Ahem…The sugar beet does well in the northeastern Colorado climate, and so, many farmers in the area grew sugar beets for many years. Accordingly, large sugar mills were built in Fort Collins, Greeley, Loveland, Longmont, and even right here in little old Ovid. All of them have been abandoned, but most are still standing. Let’s take a look at the old Ovid facility:

An abandoned Great Western Sugar plant in Ovid, Colorado
An abandoned Great Western Sugar plant in Ovid, Colorado
I imagine this building housed the company’s local offices.
Great Western seems to have had a regional monopoly on sugar.
They even owned a railroad; its tracks ran to the beet fields (not pictured).
A collection of old farm equipment in Ovid, Colorado
Looking across the South Platte River valley from downtown Ovid.
Ovid, Colorado, USA (Photographed May 25, 2012)

There’s not much daylight left now. (Wait, didn’t the sun already set once today?) Let’s head outta Ovid and see whatever we can see before it gets dark…

Somewhere between Ovid and Sterling, Colorado
You are not my mother! You are a SNORT!
Somewhere between Ovid and Sterling, Colorado
Somewhere between Ovid and Sterling, Colorado
Sunset rays striking the cool abandoned building
Scenes along US Highway 138, northeastern Colorado (Photographed May 25, 2012)

Now that the sun has set (again), let’s call it a day. Thanks for joining in the fun today, and I hope you’ll be back next week for a hike in Apex Park and another at Devil’s Head. Ta ta for now!

Leave a comment