Gilpin Tramway

The Gilpin Tramway locomotives and enginehouse
Overview
Locale	Gilpin County, Colorado
Dates of operation	1887–1917
Technical
Track gauge	2 ft (610 mm)
Length	15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km)
Route map v t e Legend Miles from Denver 35.95 Black Hawk Turn-off of the dual gauge track 35.43 Iron City Mill 35.44 Randolph Mill 35.51 New York Mill 35.78 Rocky Mt. Concentrator 36.23 Bobtail Mill 36.35 Polar Star Mill 36.53 C & S Transfer 36.53 Mead Mill 36.73 Hidden Treasure Mill Spur No. 1 36.88 Warming House 36.95 Switch-back No. 1 36.96 Round House 36.97 Machine Shop 37.08 Clear Creek Wye 37.31 Upper Fullerton Spur 37.31 Martin Junction 37.77 Wheeler Mill (on Martin Extension) 37.00 Hidden Treasure Mill Spur No. 2 38.56 Chase Gulch 39.02 Freedom Mine Spur 40.01 Water Tank, Eureka Gulch 40.02 Buckley Mine Spur 40.31 Prosser Gulch 40.44 Gunnell Mine Spur No. 1 40.49 East Whiting Spur 40.55 Gunnell Mine Spur No. 2 40.56 Gunnell Hill Wye 40.63 Gunnell Hill Siding 40.74 Concrete Switch-back No. 1 40.93 Whiting Mine Spur 40.95 Grand Army Sidings 40.96 Concrete Switch Back No. 2 41.01 Whiting Sidings 41.02 Grand Army Coal Siding 41.23 Concrete Switch Back No. 3 41.60 Concrete Mine 41.69 End of Concrete Branch 40.92 Avon Mine Spur 40.99 Avon Mill Coal Track 41.41 Pease-Kansas Branch Conn. 41.63 Euglish Kansas Spur 41.80 Pease-Kansas Ore Track 41.90 Pease-Kansas Coal Track 42.05 Fourth of July Siding 42.09 End of Pease-Kansas Branch 41.84 Phoenix-Burroughs Branch Conn. 42.20 Barnes Mine Spur 42.67 Phoenix Burroughs Ore Siding 42.74 Phoenix Burroughs Coal Siding 42.88 Ophir Mine Spur 42.91 End of Phoenix Burroughs Branch 42.01 Gettysburgh Mine (Martin's) 42.13 Quartz Hill Branch Conn. 42.71 Quartz Hill Wye 42.92 Climax Mine Spur 42.92 San Juan Mine 42.97 Switch Back No. 1 43.13 Gardner Mine Spur 43.14 Switch Back No. 2 43.14 California Mine Spur 44.14 Topeka Mine 44.23 End of Quartz Hill Branch 42.17 Leavenworth Siding 42.92 Wautoga Ore Tracks 42.96 Wautoga Coal Tracks 43.09 Russell Spur 43.17 Old Town Spur 43.26 Saratoga Branch Conn. 43.44 Old Town Spur No. 2 43.90 Twoton Spur 43.93 Searles Spur 44.26 Waltham Spur 44.45 Saratoga Siding No. 1 44.52 Saratoga Siding No. 2 44.52 Stub Spur 44.54 End of Saratoga Branch 43.85 Red Cloud Branch Conn. 44.35 Frontenac 44.45 End of track[1]

The Gilpin Railroad, earlier the Gilpin Tramway Company, was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway in Gilpin County, Colorado, in operation from 1887 to 1917.

In April 1859, John H. Gregory discovered alluvial gold in Clear Creek, near Golden, Colorado. The gold was concentrated in the north branch of Clear Creek, in what is now called Gregory Gulch above Blackhawk.^[2] News of the discovery spread, and by September, 900 prospectors had arrived, living in log shanties and tents. By the summer of 1860, sixty ore mills and thirty arrastras were in operation and the population had risen to 15,000. Mining camps, including Black Hawk, Central City, Nevadaville, Russell Gulch and Apex were formed.^[2]

But by the mid-1860s, the easily-accessible alluvial gold deposit had been exhausted. A smelter was set up in Black Hawk in 1865, to allow gold to be extracted from hard rock ore. In 1870, the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Colorado Central Railroad was formed to provide transportation to this remote region. Construction of the railroad started in September 1871, and the first train arrived at Black Hawk on December 15, 1873. In 1878, a four-mile long switchback extension was built from Black Hawk to Central City, with the first train arriving on May 21, 1878.^[3]

The problem still remained on how to economically get the gold bearing quartz ore down to the mills of Central City and Black Hawk. It was a dangerous, slow and expensive process to bring the ore down in horse-drawn wagons. In Summer 1886 five mining men met to solve the problem. The solution was the Gilpin Tramway Company, formed on July 29 in Central City by Henry C. Bolsinger, Bradford H. Locke, Robert A. Campbell, Andrew W. Rogers and Henry J. Hawley. The purpose of the company was to build a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railroad to transport ore from the mines above Black Hawk to the mills.^[4]

Grading was started in May 1887. A frame barn was purchased above Black Hawk as an engine house. The first rails were laid on July 1, 1887. Shay locomotive #1 arrived on August 26, with its first run on September 1. Trackage worked its way back down Clear Creek climbing the side of the hill and climbing up into Gregory Gulch. The maximum grade was six percent with several curves having a 50-foot (15 m) radius. The trackage continued on above Central City (there was an excursion train for Central City residents from where the tram crossed Eureka Gulch to Black Hawk on September 29, 1887). From there the trackage continued up to Nevadaville, Quartz Hill and Russel Gulch.^[5]

Much of the altitude gained by the Gilpin was done by the use of switchbacks. The Tram had more switchbacks than any other American railroad. At one point, seven switchbacks were used to reach a single mine.

The railroad was not without its opponents. The Gilpin was in direct competition to the various teamster outfits. An agreement had been made with the Colorado Central to lay a third rail through Black Hawk (creating a dual gauge track) to allow the Gilpin to reach its various mills and smelters. Mayor William Fick, associated with many of the teamsters, fought to stop the Gilpin from coming through 'his' town. The third rail was laid after various legal actions starting in December 1887. But that was not the end of it, in April 1888, the Mayor accompanied by the marshal ordered laborers to stop laying the third rail and to start removing trackage that had already been laid. Fick declared that the tram would throw teamsters out of work, a great calamity for the city. But with a payment from the Gilpin of $450 to the city, the Mayor was advised to quit his losing fight, and none of the trackage was removed.^[6]

Ore and supplies were not the only cargo carried on the Gilpin. On May 23, 1888, the tram received six new excursion passenger cars. As with many other railroads in the west, tourist traffic created a good supplement to the railroads income. Excursions occurred throughout each summer. A round trip from Black Hawk with lunch was 75 cents. A combined trip on the Colorado Central from Denver was $2.40.^[7]

Throughout 1888, track was extended to mines and mills leading to 15+1⁄2 miles (24.9 km) of track by winter of that year. Once winter arrived, a new and interesting problem arrived as well. Ore comes from wet ground, and in the winter, it has a tendency to freeze solid in the cars before delivery to the mills. The tram solved this problem with a unique solution. A warming house was built near the engine house with tracks running its entire length. Steam pipes and stoves warmed the building to a high of 120 °F (49 °C), thus keeping the ore warm and dry.^[8]

Traffic continued to grow throughout the 1890s, with three Shays taking up the load. Accidents did happen on occasion with engines jumping the track and rolling over. By 1900, new shays were replacing the old ones.

In January 1899, the Colorado Central (then owned by the bankrupt Union Pacific Railroad) was taken over by the Colorado and Southern (C&S). The Gilpin had been showing a nice profit in the early 1900s so by 1905, the C&S was looking at the Gilpin as a likely acquisition. On June 27, 1906, the Gilpin was sold to the Colorado and Southern.^[9]

1910 saw the Gilpin at its greatest length of 26.46 miles (42.58 km) including spurs and sidings. But unfortunately, the C&S bought the Gilpin at the height of its profitability. The profit margins on mining gold was dropping both due to increased cost to extract the gold, and fixed prices in the gold market due to government. As such, traffic was dropping. Soon the Gilpin was running in the red. The last train ran on January 17, 1917. The railroad was sold for scrap in June 1917.^[10]

• Ericson, Duane (2007). Silver City Narrow Gauge. M2FQ Publications.
• Ferrell, Mallory Hope (1970). The Gilpin Gold Tram. Pruett Publishing. ISBN 0-87108-045-1.
• Koch, Michael (1971). The Shay Locomotive Titan of the Timber. The World Press.

• The Gilpin Tramway