Claude Wiatrowski, author of “Railroads of Colorado” and other books on trains, is among Colorado’s most knowledgeable railroad experts. He shared some of his favorite historic haunts and trivia.
Q: What do those numbers signify on top of railroad nails?
A: Those are date nails. They have the date that the tie went in, so people know how long the tie will last. A good replacement schedule is every 10 years. The longer you wait, the slower you have to run your trains.
Q: So a nail marked 30 is from 1930?
A: Right.
Q: Can you still find those nails and ties on abandoned railroad lines?
A: Sometimes. A lot of those ghost railroad lines are popular with hikers and cross-country skiers. My favorite one for a day hike is just west of Leadville. Everyone calls it Hagerman Pass, but its official name is the Centennial Trail.
Q: Sounds like those old lines really crisscross the mountains.
A: Yes. There are spectacular rail routes all over the state, including some truly insane places to build a railroad. A lot of them have tunnels. There’s a route with four or five tunnels above (U.S.) Highway 24, just above Manitou Springs. And there are eight or nine tunnels in the Gold Camp area. There used to be a spectacular tunnel, the Needle’s Eye.
Q: What was that?
A: It was on top of Rollins Pass. They used it when the train ran over the pass, before the Moffat Tunnel was built. After the tunnel went in, for a while, you could drive through the Needle’s Eye. But it caved in. It is now closed to auto traffic.
– Claire Martin, The Denver Post
