When A Summer Vacation on a Steam Engine Turns Into a Historical Romance Series

By Donna Wichelman

Long before my Singing Silver Mine historical romance series came to pass, our family became fans of the Georgetown Loop Railroad living museum attraction in Georgetown, Colorado. The three-foot, narrow-gauge railroad through the Rocky Mountains provided a delightful summer excursion with our then four-year-old daughter only forty-five minutes west from Denver. Little did I know its importance in the history of Colorado would take a prominent place in a series I would write many years later.

Georgetown Loop Railroad Summer 1995: Donna's Gallery

Summer Fun on the Georgetown Railroad
Summer 1995: Donna's Gallery

The find of gold by Lewis Ralston at the confluence of the Clear Creek and South Platte River in Arvada and his return to the same site in present-day Arvada eight years later touched off the gold rush to the Rockies in 1858. The discovery set off a chain of events that eventually sent Kentuckians George F. Griffith and his brother David T. Griffith up the Clear Creek Canyon to the South Fork of the Clear Creek in June 1859.

The Griffith Brothers set up a camp on June 15th and found gold two days later. Not long afterward, they built a cabin at what is now Seventeenth and Main Streets in today’s Georgetown. By June 1860, they’d created their own mining district called the Griffith Mining District, and in the spring of 1861, David Griffith surveyed and platted the town of Georgetown with approximately forty residents and two mills.

Talk of a railroad in the Territory of Colorado was already underway by the mid-1860s with the influx of immigrants and a new ore on the scene—silver! The Colorado and Clear Creek RR incorporated in 1865 and reorganized as the Colorado Central and Pacific RR in 1866.

In 1867, John Evans and David Moffat incorporate Denver Pacific Railroad to build a railroad between Denver and Cheyenne to connect with the Transcontinental between New York and San Francisco. The railroad was completed in June 1869 and more people descended on the territory.

As the mining districts of Central City-Black Hawk and Griffith Mining continued to grow, so did the desire to establish railroads to transport ore down the mountain. The Colorado Central and Pacific became the Colorado Central RR and laid 11 miles up the Clear Creek from Golden. By 1870, the Colorado Central had connected with the Denver Pacific and Kansas Pacific at Jersey Junction two miles north of Denver.

However, with the dawn of a new decade came Eastern interests and political wrangling among corporate entities, and the Union Pacific, Colorado Central, and Denver Pacific/Kansas Pacific jockeyed for control. Still, miles of track continued to be laid along the Clear Creek and into Central City and Black Hawk, and locomotives were delivered to Golden until the end of 1872.

Then the financial crisis of 1873 struck. The nation had already been hard hit, but now Colorado and the railroads were feeling the crunch. Though grading continued and routes were still laid, the Colorado Central found itself unable to pay its bills. Between financial woes, weather-related blockages, and corporate squabbling, the people of Georgetown had to wait another four years for the Colorado Central Railroad to reach them.

Despite the delay of a railroad, Georgetown continued to prosper and burst at the seams with people from all parts of the globe who’d made their fortunes in silver. There was every reason for the town to be optimistic as the train finally rode into town in August 1877. Georgetown had become the Silver Queen of Colorado.

Georgetown Narrow Gauge Railroad
iStock-471011565

As it turned out, the title was short-lived when Leadville overtook Georgetown with its rich silver veins and people began to migrate once again at the end of the decade. But the Georgetown Loop was an engineering marvel for its day, having devised “a system of curves and bridges reducing the average grade to three percent … including three hairpin turns, four bridges, and a thirty-degree horseshoe curve from Georgetown to Silver Plume,” says the Georgetown Loop RR website. The $3 train ride became one of Colorado’s “must see” attractions.

Today, the Georgetown Loop RR still amazes and attracts people from all over the world who want an “old time” experience on a narrow-gauge train through the astounding terrain of the Colorado Rockies. Along the route, the visitor can also disembark for a tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine—a once prolific source of silver in the district. They also offer a gold-panning experience. An Autumn Fest runs through the month of October when actors make the experience fun and engaging by dressing up as characters from the 1870s.  Then, beginning in November/December, they run a Santa North Pole adventure and Santa’s Lighted Forest trains.

Actors Portraying 1870s Characters, Georgetown Loop Railroad
October 2018: Donna's Gallery

Lebanon Silver Mine Tunnel, Georgetown Loop Railway
October 2018: Donna's Gallery

For more information about the Georgetown Loop Railroad and its holiday events visit https://www.georgetownlooprr.com/

And if you are a train aficionado and interested in a historically immersive experience about train travel in Colorado, visit the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado https://coloradorailroadmuseum.org/. 

Weaving history and faith into stories of intrigue and redemption grew out of Donna's love of travel, history, and literature as a young adult while attending the United World College of the Atlantic--an international college in Wales, U.K. She enjoys developing plots that show how God's love abounds even in the profoundly difficult circumstances of our lives. Her stories reflect the hunger in all of us for love, belonging, and forgiveness.

Donna was a communications professional before writing full-time. Her short stories and articles have appeared in inspirational publications. She has two indie-published romantic suspense novels, Light Out of Darkness and Undaunted Valor, in her Waldensian Series. Her Gilded Age historical romance, A Song of Deliverance, will be released by Scrivenings Press in December 2024.

Donna and her husband of forty years participate in ministry at their local church in Colorado. They love spending time with their grandchildren and bike, kayak, and travel whenever possible.

Durango and Silverton: America's Railroad

by Martha Hutchens

Durango Silverton Railroad
Image by Martha Hutchens

I recently had the opportunity to ride in a steam-powered train in the mountain of Colorado, the famous Durango to Silverton line. The scenery was fabulous, and the history fascinating. As with most things, it began with one man’s dream.

General William J. Palmer arrived in Denver in 1870. Previously, he worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and when he arrived in Denver, he envisioned his railroad—the Denver & Rio Grande (D&RG)-- heading south through Santa Fe, NM and eventually all the way to Mexico City. He didn’t take government funding as many of the railroads did at this time, choosing to find private investors instead.

His first track ran from Denver to Colorado Springs, which he founded in 1871, believing it could become a center for recreation and tourism. This line went on to Pueblo, Colorado and Palmer planned to take it through Raton Pass and on to Santa Fe. However, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe occupied the pass first.

Palmer turned his attention to another path to Santa Fe, passing through the Royal Gorge. Once again, the Santa Fe line got there first. This time, Palmer turned to the courts. The final settlement allowed Palmer to build to the west of Canyon City, but not south, ending his quest to take his railroad to Mexico City.

Starter Hotel, Durango Colorado
Image by Martha Hutchens

This settlement forced D&RG to focus on tracks in the mountains of Colorado, and eventually led to them establishing the rail line from Durango to Silverton.

Silverton, Colorado, sits at 9318 altitude, in the caldera of an ancient volcano. This area is a mineral treasure trove, having some of the highest percentage of ores on the continent. However, getting there was difficult, and supplying the miners a herculean task. Mining started in earnest in Silverton in the early 1870s, though transportation was still problematic.

In 1876, Palmer announced his intention to build a line to Silverton. He founded the town of Durango (altitude 6522 feet) to be the hub of operations for this line.

Animas River
Image by Martha Hutchens

The line would be 45 miles long and rise in altitude almost 1800 feet. The steepest grades in this line would be 4 percent rise. For a long part of the path, the line would follow the Animas River. They chose to use narrow gauge line (three feet between the rails) because it would allow sharper curves, necessary in the mountainous terrain. The line was completed in eleven months, arriving in Silverton in July of 1882. The line has been named a National Historic Landmark and a Civil Engineering Historic Landmark.

The High Line
Image by Martha Hutchens

The famous (or infamous if you are afraid of heights) High Line was perhaps the most difficult part of this route. The rails sit on a man-made rock ledge, 240 feet above the Animas River. Workers were lowered from the cliffs above with rope harnesses. They drilled into the rock with hammers and chisels, set black powder charges, and were lifted back up before the charges detonated.

Due to the train, transportation costs of ore from Silverton dropped from $60 a ton to $12 a ton.

But the railroad’s history didn’t end in 1882. It was just beginning.

In 1882, a hotel opened near Trimble Hot Springs, where visitors could take advantage of the healing waters.

In 1905, the hydroelectric Tacoma Power Plant was built. It still generates power today, some of which powers the town of Silverton. There is no road access to this power plant. The utility company has its own gas-powered rail cars to transport its employees to the site.

Numerous avalanches, landslides, and fires have temporarily interrupted service. In 1884, a wye was built about 10 miles outside of Silverton to allow trains to turn around if the rails were blocked farther north. Material were then transported the rest of the way by animals, including occasionally by dog sled.

In the 1950s, several movies were filmed along the train route, including “A Ticket to Tomahawk” and “Across the Wide Missouri.” A train wreck was staged along the railway for the movie “Denver and Rio Grande.” The spectacular scenery in these movies encouraged tourists to ride the train, which had been opened for passengers in 1948. The tourist business saved the railway, because mining started to diminish in the 1950s.

Image by Martha Hutchens

As you can see from the pictures, the scenery is worth the trip!

Martha Hutchens is a transplanted southerner who lives in Los Alamos, NM where she is surrounded by history so unbelievable it can only be true. She won the 2019 Golden Heart for Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements. A former analytical chemist and retired homeschool mom, Martha is frequently found working on her latest knitting project when she isn’t writing.

Martha’s current novella is set in southeast Missouri during World War II. It is free to her newsletter subscribers. You can subscribe to my newsletter at my website, www.marthahutchens.com

After saving for years, Dot Finley's brother finally paid a down payment for his own land—only to be drafted into World War II. Now it is up to her to ensure that he doesn't lose his dream while fighting for everyone else's. No one is likely to help a sharecropper's family.

Nate Armstrong has all the land he can manage, especially if he wants any time to spend with his four-year-old daughter. Still, he can't stand by and watch the Finley family lose their dream. Especially after he learns that the banker's nephew has arranged to have their loan called.

Necessity forces them to work together. Can love grow along with crops?