page_title: Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad
section_title: Description of lines
hierarchical_section_title: Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad / Description of lines
caption_attribution_description: The old track workers' house, DSP&amp;P railroad, Park/Summit counties, CO
context_page_description: The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad was a historic 3 ft narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom. The railroad took its name from the fact that its main line from Denver ascended the Platte Canyon and traversed South Park. Founded in 1872 by Colorado Governor John Evans, the company was purchased by the Union Pacific Railway in 1880, though it continued to be operated independently. The line went bankrupt in 1889 and was reorganized under the new moniker the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway. When the Union Pacific went bankrupt in 1893, the DL&G lines went into receivership and were eventually sold to the Colorado and Southern Railway. In the first half of the 20th century, nearly all the company's original lines were dismantled or converted into 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in standard gauge. The last train to run the old DSP&P tracks was from Como, Colorado on April 11, 1937.
context_section_description: The company's main line was 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge and went from Union Station in Denver up the valley of the South Platte River to the town of South Platte, then followed the North Fork of the South Platte through Buffalo Creek and Bailey. West of Bailey the route along North Fork and through the north end of the Tarryall Mountains essentially followed the route of present-day U.S. Highway 285 to Como, where it branched northward (see below). From Como the main line traversed South Park to Garo, where a spur went northward to Fairplay and Alma. The main line continued south over Trout Creek Pass. On the western side of the pass, a small spur of the main connected to Buena Vista, then traversed the southern end of the Sawatch Range through the Alpine Tunnel to Pitkin and Gunnison.  The distance along the main line from Denver to Gunnison was approximately 208 miles (335 km).
  A principal branch of the main line north from Como went over Boreas Pass to Breckenridge, Dillon, Keystone, Frisco and Climax. This branch terminated at Leadville.
  A small 7-mile (11 km) branch of the main line 9 miles (14 km) south of Denver connected to Morrison (this line was actually constructed first).
caption: Boreas Pass section house, DSP&P RR.
exif: {}