The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1906-03-24
LEADvILLE LINE.
PROPOSED NEW ROUTE VIA MoF-
FAT ROAD.
TO START At KREMMllNG
OIion-Old Denver & Rio Grande
Right Of Way and Grade Secured.

E'S'k VI vsdy d''e " oeS SSNe' Se-
Denver-The Denver Republican
Wednesday morning says;
Within the next year the Moffat rail
road will be competing with the Den
Yer & Rio Grande, the Colorado Mid
land and the Colorado & southern rail
roads for business out of Leadville.
This is one of the most important an
nouncements that Denver has had in
a long time. The reason the Moffat
road will be able to do this is because
a feeder is to be built up the Blue
river, a distance of forty miles, TO con
meet with the new route. \ company
of Denver business men has been or
ganizo.l and will shortly take the nee
essary steps to exploit their project
David II. MofIat and associates are
said not to be back of the project,
but that it is in the hands of capital
lists who have realized the import ance
OF opening up the territory. II is i'm
portant to Denver because il brings
the Leadville trade many miles nearer.
and it is important to the Leadville
mining district because il Will put the
ores much nearer cheap coal. whether
the ore is shipped TO the coal or the
coal to the camp.
The company has secured rights Of
way up the Blue river and in fact prac-
tically has Il grade all ready, because
II has come into possession of the Old
Denver Il Rio Grande grade, con
structed many years ago.
The distance from Denver to Lead
VILE is 275.s miles by the Denver q
Rio Grande. 1t is practically the same
distance via the Colorado MidlaId less
the forty miles between Colorado
Springs and Pueblo. The Colorado IL
Southern is not taken into account be
cause il is a narrow gauge foul" AMI
Il heavy grade. The Mofat line viii
be twenty-five miles shorter than that,
The distance between Denver and
Ieadville via the Moffat road Is 1919
miles, or eighty miles shorter than the
Rio Grande. That means about three
hours of running time, as trains are
now operated in the mountains
The situation is as follows: The
| Moffat road is now completed 10 Sui
| phur Springs, but the grade is m1de to
| Kremmling a distance of 1lS miles
| from Denver. The rails on this part
of the track are DELAYED in delivery,
but will be put down early in the
| spring krcmmlng is two and one
| half miles iroln the eastern entrance
| of Gore canon in which "A large force
| of men is now at work making IN
| grade The Blue river emp'ios into
| the Grand river practically Al the town
| of kremmln.. The town of Dillon is
| on the Blue river. forty miles from
| Kremmling. Both the Denver 4 Rio
Grande and the Colorado x southern
have lines of road into Dillon from
Leadville.
Now the proposition of the II nver
men is that they will build III" forty
miles between Eremmling. If they
then find that they can NOT make
proper running agreement with the
| older companies for running trains be.
tween Dillon and Leadville, they will
parallel the other lines into L"adyille
| 1t is a distance of thirty.seven miles
AS originally planned the Denver &
| Rio Grande road should nave been
built west practically as the MoHat
road is now going, through Gore
canon. The work was undertaken and
| the line was graded to Dillon and uD
the Blue to within a mile and hall
west of Kremming and mp the Muddy
| river The rails we're only laid on the
portion to Dillon, and eventually the
| grade for the remaining forty hniles
was turned over to the commissioners
| OF Sunnl ana NIlbLi ''hilAi'H' anu II
| became county road. The men who
are undertaking to build this road
to connect with the Moffat line have
| secured an agreement by which this is
| 10 be turned over TO them for right
| of way 1t will take considerable
/ money to put this in shape. OF course,
but they practically find their grade
| waiting for them.
II is estimated that the road can be
built for S60o,o0o or about s1o"bo a
| mile. The money for the work is ready
| for them when they want il.
At present the immense quantities
of coal used in the Leadville district is
| brought nip from Trinidad and Crested
| Butte, or from New Castle on the west
| ern slope. 1t is "A long and expensive
| haul and the Moffat people claim that
with the Blue river feeder built they
can lay coal down at half the prlce
| consumers are now paying.