The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-08-16
IL "MOfFAT" TRIP
{. 0. Moore, Writes EnterlaininQIy
OF a Splendid Mountain Trip He
Recently Took.

Mi. II. ". MOORE, lOFuQeF Well known
young man of this county, now in the
railway mail service at st. Louis, has
recently returned from an extended
trip in the west, and is going to publish
a book containing an account of his
travels. He has written us the following
letter telling of one of the mountain
trips, which will appear as one of the
chapters in his book, and we publish it
as we know it will prove interesting
reading, and will be appreciated by Mr..
Moore's many friends in this county.
AS an Introduction to this, perhaps
the most delightful of all mountain trips
in Colorado, the readers attention is
invited to the following paragraph from
an advertising folder published by the
railroad company:
"The Denver, Northwestern & Pacific
Railway, named by the public "The
Mofat Road" in honor of it's builder,
David H. Moffat, is being constructed
from Denver to Salt Lake City in an air
line, and is destined to change the rail-
road map of the entire west. 1t will
traverse region larger than the state
of Pennsylvania, Astounding in mineral
resources of all kinds and the home of
the greater portion of Colorado's live
stock industry hitherto without mile
of railway owing to the supposed in
surmountable engineering obstacles.
The new road will reduce the distance
between the two terminals approximate
ly two hundred miles, and shorten the
train time more than ten hours. The
first fifty miles, extending from Denver
to Tolland Boulder Park was built and
opened for traffic July 1, 1904"
From the last sentence of the above
paragraph it will be noticed that this
line has been open to the travelling
public only about two years, and for
that reason it is as yet comparatively
little known to the tourist. While it is
not in any sense the writer's purpose to
advertise the "Moffat Road" he begs to
assure any of his readers who may con-
template making this trip that it is one
well worth the time and money it costs.
Leaving Denver at an altitude of 5,170
feet, the train makes a rapid run of
fifteen or twenty miles to the foothills
and then begins it's winding climb up
through the mountains, crossing the
Continental Divide three and one-half
hours later at Corona, at an elevation of
1850 feet. This is said to be the high
est point reached by any standard
guage road in the world. There are
thirty-one tunnels, many of them cut
through solid granite, besides numerous
snowsheds on this route, and every pre-
caution is taken to insure the travellers
safety, track walker going through
every tunnel and snowshed Immediately
before and after every train passes, to
see that everything is in order. The
road bed is smooth, the equipment first
class in every respect. solid yestibuled
trains being run over the entire length
of the line, and it is doubtful if there is
another one-day, mountain trip in
America that will afford the traveller
more real enjoyment.
Our train left Denver at eight o'clock
in the morning on the twentieth of June.
the sun was shining, the air was warm,
and it was an ideal day for an outing.
For the first fifteen miles the road runs
through beautiful valley. The vege-
tation is abundant, and all nature is
smiling. Then the scene begins to
change. The country becomes more
broken as the train speeds on toward
the foothills. 1t is not long until we
round a sharp curve and the train
plunges straight away up steep in
cline. A feeling of exhilaration strikes
the traveller who finds himself for the
first time actually climbing the noun
tains, perhaps realizing some almost
forgotten dream of boyhood. But there
is no time to muse on childhood's
fancies. The train has reached the first
low summit, and another sharp turn
takes us back in the direction we have
just come, but we are higher up and can
see the track we have just passed over
lying below us. On goes the train
climbing, climbing, climbing. No more
level track now. 1t is up, up, up, and
we hear our good iron steed snortine
defiance to the law of gravitation as he
pulls himself together for the long
climb. Back and forth, and round and
round we go, now and then catching a
glimpse of the point where we first
commenced to ascend, but each time it
is farther below us. The plain through
which we came half hour ago begins
to appear narrow; it's lakes have
dwindled to little white specks in the
distance. On the other hand the giant
hills begin to tower above us. From
now on the scene is constantly chang
ing. The train plunges through a