page_title: Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad
section_title: Leadville mining boom
hierarchical_section_title: Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad / History / Leadville mining boom
caption_attribution_description: English: Bakers water tank along Boreas Pass road (old railroad grade), Summit Coonty, Colorado, USA
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: A mining boom near Leadville resulted in a construction race between Denver, South Park and Pacific and
  Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, with both reaching Buena Vista in early 1880. The Denver, South Park and Pacific completed construction first, but rather than both companies laying track to Leadville, Jay Gould pressured the two companies to make a deal called the "Joint Operation Agreement" of October 1, 1879. The companies agree that "...for the purpose of harmony and mutual profit...", the Denver and Rio Grande would lay tracks to the north from Buena Vista to the Leadville mining district, but that the Denver, South Park and Pacific would share equal traffic rights. Similarly, the Denver, South Park and Pacific would build into the Gunnison Country via Chalk Creek, with equal traffic rights given to the Denver and Rio Grande.  In 1884 the D&RG ended the Joint Agreement, which forced the DSP&P to build their own line to Leadville.  This route, the "High Line" left the original route at Como, and proceeded across Boreas Pass to Breckenridge, then across Fremont Pass to Leadville.  This route was noteworthy for crossing the Continental Divide twice (from the Atlantic side to the Pacific side at Boreas Pass, and back to the Atlantic side at Fremont Pass), and was extremely difficult to operate in winter.
caption: Cross-country skiers traveling along the old railroad grade pass the restored Bakers water tank in Summit County, west of Boreas Pass
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