Sidebar by Central Staff
History – November 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
CREEDE LINE CHRONOLOGY
1878: Narrow-gauge Denver & Rio Grande reaches Alamosa.
1881: Alamosa to South Fork, narrow-gauge.
1883: South Fork to Wagon Wheel Gap, narrow-gauge.
1891: Wagon Wheel Gap to Creede, narrow-gauge.
1900: Third rail, allowing for both standard- and narrow-gauge trains, from Alamosa to Monte Vista. Narrow-gauge has 3 feet between the rails; standard is 4 feet, 8½ inches.
1901: Third rail, Monte Vista to Del Norte.
1902: Del Norte to Creede converted to standard-gauge.
1931: Passenger service ends on Creede branch.
1956: Last D&RGW standard-gauge steam operations occur on Creede branch.
1972: D&RGW quits running into Creede and turns trains at Wasson Mine, thereby avoiding having to pay crews for an extra day under a union agreement that made Creede a terminal.
1984: Last train on the Creede branch west of South Fork.
1996: D&RGW merged into Union Pacific Railroad.
2001: UP sells 22-miles from Derrick siding (South Fork) to Creede to Don Shank’s Rio Grande Historical Foundation.
