Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-06-27
ALPINE PASS TUNNEL.
THE HIGHEST RAILWAY cur IN THE
UNITED STATES.
The Conflict in the Royal Gorge-an Un-
safe Place for workmen-Psriis OF
Railway Building In the
Mountain

From the New York Sun. So.
The highest railway pass IN Norm Amer
lea Is about to be opened for traffic. THIS
Is the Alpine pass route of the south Park
line to Guunison and Pitkin, which was
closed about seven years ago because Of
the expense and extreme difficulty OF Keep
Alpine pass pass erosses cross $ the main range Of the
Rocky mountains near the base OF MOUNT
piaRs m6cR ne thSr in eseS snewy FEGnR FSR
above. the range about midway between
Noun, Massive and Mount o,uray; ,1.,ln,, In The
excitement which followed close upon the
Leadville BOOM, two routes were located
Marshall Pass at the base of Mount Ou-
ray, and the other. Alpine Pass, which was
soon after followed by the Denver and Rio
Grande surveyors, and the other sleeper
and more rugged pass was used by the
der In tolls. The Alpine pass was the
prospectors generally took the shorter
In Alpine pass danger seemed TO lurk at
every step; the snow hung on until jun. June
daily occurrence, and nobody had time to
do any repairing, on the arail. often teams
hand encounter settled the question of
right of way and the weaker party was apt
The year 1850 witnessed the race to Lead
vile of the, South Park and the Rio
sion OF the Royal gorge. on the Arkansas
between the Atchison and Rio Grande COM
naNlCS, the south BafK secured tne I'M
mensse traffic of the early Leadville, rush,
which made its earnings phenomenal 1t
was easy to secure capital to build the Al,
pine Pass road under such conditions, and
a survey was rapidly made. There was no
time to choose the most practical, route
and the easiest grades. The promised busi-
ness seemed sufficient to pay handsome
revenue, no matter what the cost Of opera
tion and the promoters wanted the, line
completed without loss of time In June,
lssO a tunnel was begun, which was ln-
ished by September. iSS1and soon after the
South
clouds to an altitude of t,6OQ feet
The survey followed Chalk creek from
the Arkansas river until the canyon walls
shut in the foaming torrent. Then the as
cent was made in. winding coarse at a
around projections of rock. zigzagging back
and forth, in and out until near the sum
was located through the crest of the West;
ern slope. There the mountain sloped
aSTupt manner IN sbef HFt of '"RReS granite Vas Was
blasted for great distance, and over one
partGniary steer slope grants parape.. para e.
countered in constructing the road We're
many, and various Fifteen men lost their
lives by accident and many more from eN-
posure; More than one burrow laden with
dynamite toppled over the precipice and IN
a tremendous explosion.
Down below track eonstrqeiton ,,,,,2 Was as
could be brought into the district. The town
Of Hancock, below the tunnel became one
was named in honor of General Hancock.
Near by We're gold mines now forgotten.
Springs, the Hortense hotel the Hortense
mines and the town of Hortense. Believ-
+ come one day a famous health resort, a
company Of spectators IN Quincy, Ill;
construct a summer resort Il was built
in Chalk Creek canyon some distance from
the. track. and finished in elaborate style.
Hot and cold baths were placed on every
floor, and electric bells We're introduced, BY
the time it was completed business had
died away, the town of Hancock was re-
duced to water tank and a section house.
the mines were deserted. and, TO add to the
Generalization, the tunnel route was aban-
doned The hotel remains in solitary grand
eur amid the snow banks and pine trees,
without having entertained single guest.
The railway officials speak of it as the
Lost" hotel. To-day between Nathrop
station, on the Arkansas and Gunnison,not
a habltauqn remains save an occasional
ranch nesting in Gany9n beside stream; am;
was thickly populated with prospectors is
now forsaken. Everything was abandoned
climb over the range. The winters inter-
yening have played havoc with the road
track in many places, and the tunnel itself
was filled to the roof with blue ice formed
from the dripping waters within.
To reopen this tunnel has been a danger
Gus business and, ns IN the days , OF rs z,
the work, a construction gang worked in
the tunnel last week from the western en-
trance until they had cleared the tunnel or
Instructions to the center and part way
down on the eastern slope. Entering last
Saturday and working forward, the loco
motive came upon body of water banked
up by debris ahead. Some of the workmen
began to feel the effects of the gas from
the locomotive and started up the grade TO
reach the fresh air near the western en-
cranCe. As they moved back one man was
overcome by the fumes and his compan-
ions lifted him with the intention of carry
ing him to place of safety, suddenly the
locomotive was upon them fastening back
ward. With n shout the men on the track
warned the engineer who reversed quick
ly. This seems 10 have been his last act,
for the locomotive plunged forward down
the heavy grade and dashed into the water
and rock slide ahead. The workmen on
the track reached the summit in the tunnel
in safety and We're soon in fresh air, but
those on the locomotive We're suffocated.
1t was not until the following day that the
men TO reach the locomotive, Four men
neer, the fireman, the conductor and a Ia
borer.
The grandeur of the scenery along tho
route is beyond description ON the west
ern slope just below the tunnel the train
follows a ledge cut out of the mountain
wall from which miles of mountain sum-
mits can be traced far below, with nterven-
ing canyons, gorges and parks Below the
narrow ledge the slopes drop away almost
perpendCulary down, down, down, thou
sands of feet, while above the granite cliffs
tower into the snow line.