Looping Back
We woke the third morning of our trip to this. It was back to the Georgetown Loop Railroad and the little A-frame cabin where we stayed during the Plague Trip last year. We hadn't known how feasible a real trip would be this summer when we were planning things, and last year's Colorado jaunt worked pretty well, so we decided to do it all again.
If you recall last year's commentary, you might remember that the Georgetown Loop was a narrow gauge railroad built in the 1880s to serve all the million-someodd gold and silver mines in the process of perforating Clear Creek Canyon. The railroad died as soon as the mines played out, though, and it sat rusting away for decades until the 1980s, when some entrepreneurial genius revived it as a tourist railroad. It doesn't run far, just about five miles uphill from Georgetown to Silver Plume, but the route includes a big loop designed to lessen the grade.
When we were here last year, they were running the train with a diesel engine. This time, the steam engine was running, which makes for a better picture. The train was also running a much more extensive schedule, so I had plenty of chances to see the train.
Looping Back
We woke the third morning of our trip to this. It was back to the Georgetown Loop Railroad and the little A-frame cabin where we stayed during the Plague Trip last year. We hadn't known how feasible a real trip would be this summer when we were planning things, and last year's Colorado jaunt worked pretty well, so we decided to do it all again.
If you recall last year's commentary, you might remember that the Georgetown Loop was a narrow gauge railroad built in the 1880s to serve all the million-someodd gold and silver mines in the process of perforating Clear Creek Canyon. The railroad died as soon as the mines played out, though, and it sat rusting away for decades until the 1980s, when some entrepreneurial genius revived it as a tourist railroad. It doesn't run far, just about five miles uphill from Georgetown to Silver Plume, but the route includes a big loop designed to lessen the grade.
When we were here last year, they were running the train with a diesel engine. This time, the steam engine was running, which makes for a better picture. The train was also running a much more extensive schedule, so I had plenty of chances to see the train.