Tennessee Pass, Colorado

First of all, railroads are generally off limits, as they can be active and dangerous.

Tennessee Pass was named for a group of early prospectors in the area. The railroad that tunneled through the pass saw the last train in 1997 from what I could find in research. We first found this forest road out roaming a few years ago and sad to say that much of the vandalism has been in the last few years. It was in much better shape a few years ago. 

The tunnel reeked of fresh paint. I will never understand the inclination to mark up historical things. This will eventually make it to where it is inaccessible to all eventually. Blah to that. Really ticks me off. 

Anywho. There were a few videos about the railroad tunnel on Youtube that were great! I also saw a Facebook post about the tunnel with a swing hanging from above! 

The elevation of the tunnel is around 10,000 feet, Camp Hale was not too far from here (I’ll do a post about them later!). The railroad served many of the local communities through the ages and was updated and changed to suit the current needs of the mountain. 

The echo that can be heard now was the groan of highway traffic above on Highway 24, but the sound of the trains linger forever. The railway originally opened in 1881 as a narrow gauge railroad going over the pass from Leadville. A few years later a tunnel was bored through the mountain.  A quick look on maps shows some old scars from the way that the lines used to run in the area (found by searching Tennessee Pass, Colorado) 

The tunnel is approximately a half a mile long and is next to the original tunnel location. It was replaced in 1945 to allow for larger loads to pass and the original narrow gauge was abandoned. In 1997 the train traffic was rerouted to Moffat Tunnel Route.  In 2012, part of the old tunnel collapsed creating a sinkhole above, and the tunnel was sealed off, the 1945 tunnel next to it remains open.

I think places like these need more explorers with good intent to keep the bad at bay a little better. I admit I was not willing to go further into the tunnel without my major lumen powered flashlight (on my counter at home of course). Plus it’s the end of Bear season, I’ll do that another day!

p.s. A shout out to Quinn, I hope that someday your curse ends and you find your love, forget those that wish you zero happiness 😉 I’m rooting for you!