The route over Rollins Pass, was originally a wagon toll road, leading to the Middle Park area of Colorado, and points west. Before long, another toll road was constructed over Berthoud Pass, which today is the highway route into this area.
At some point, the idea of connecting Denver to Salt Lake, by way of Middle Park, Steamboat Springs, and Craig, became the obsession of Dave Moffat, a wealthy miner and industrialist. He chartered the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad, with the goal of achieving his dream. He selected Rollins Pass as the route his railroad would take, to cross the Continental Divide.
Rollins Pass proved to be an operational nightmare for the railroad, particularly in Winter. The top of the pass was well above 10,000 feet, with a number of trestles and tunnels needed to complete the line. The Denver & Salt Lake, or Moffat Road, as it was later to be known, headed west from Denver, utilizing Boulder Canyon as its route west. In the 30 or so miles from Denver, to Tolland, at the eastern base of Rollins Pass, the railroad had to blast approximately 30 tunnels, of varing length. This section of the railroad became known as 'The Tunnel District.' From Tolland, to Winter Park, on the western side of the Pass, huge articulated steam engines, sometimes 2-3 to a train, were required to keep the trains moving.
The first part of the line, heading up the pass, west of Tolland, was known as 'Giant's Ladder.' This was a section of the line that had 3 large climbing sections of line, which could be, and can still be seen easily from the Tolland area. Several miles beyond Giant's Ladder were the stations of Yankee Doodle, Dixie, and Corona.
In 2003, I explored only the Giant's Ladder(was a passenger in a stock SUV) portion of the east side of Rollins Pass. At the start of the road leading to Rollins Pass, in Rollinsville, where it leaves the Peak-to-Peak Highway, a sign warns that the road is closed beyond the 19 mile marker. This is due to a collapsed tunnel, from my understanding, and several original trestles in a high state of disrepair. From the 19 mile point, it is possible to hike in a ways to these locations, however beware of changing weather, and the high altitude, which is over 11,000 feet. The eastern side of Rollins Pass is a highly used area today by many people, however, respect the NO TRESPASSING signs!!!!
In the late 1920's, the Rio Grande Railroad, which had purchased the Moffat Road, decided to improve its route, by building the 6 mile long Moffat Tunnel, under the Continental Divide, from the Tolland area, to Winter Park. The resulting Moffat Tunnel, which also carries water from west of the Divide, is a straight 6.2 mile bore that took about 6 years to build. Once completed, the rail line over Rollins Pass was abandoned, and torn up.
The western side of
Rollins Pass can also be explored along the old railroad bed.
It is about 8 miles from Winter Park, to where vehicles must
stop.
1.
2.
3.
1. Coming into Pine Cliff off of Coal Creek Canyon Road, from the Golden area. This view is looking west.
2. Rollins Pass road, in the Tolland area.
3. Union Pacific freight train waiting for an eastbound freight to clear, at the East Portal of Moffat Tunnel.
4. Rollins Pass Road, heading towards the East Portal of Moffat Tunnel. The Moffat Tunnel's East Portal is a rectangular structure, to the left of the road.
5.
6.
7.
5. View from the 1st level of the Giant's Ladder.
6. View from the 1st level of the Giant's Ladder, looking towards Tolland, and Rollinsville area.
7. View of Tolland Park.
8.
9.
10.
8. View of Tolland Area from Giant's Ladder.
9. View of Tolland Area from Giant's Ladder. There is a Union Pacific freight train in the valley.
10. View towards Berthoud Pass, from Giant's Ladder. From the East Portal of Moffat Tunnel there are a number of trails that head in the direction of Berthoud Pass.
11. View from Giant's Ladder, looking towards Moffat Tunnel, at the base of the mountain, in the middle center of the picture. On the hillside, behind Moffat Tunnel, there appear 2 survey lines of cleared trees. One is the true path of the tunnel, the other is from an earlier, erronious tunnel survey.
Back to the JCS Colorado Photo page
Update 11/12/2003
(c) Copyright, J. Carl Shaw, 2003. All rights reserved. Photos may be used by crediting the photographer