George Town Loop - Restored Narrow Gauge Train

Last Update: 2/23/2005 - Jens Moller

Easy access from Interstate 70, near Denver

This little section of railroad had quite a reputation when it was first built. The valley between Georgetown and Silver Plume was quite an altitude change over a fairly short distance. Trains, unlike cars and trucks, can't pull much weight up a grade that is more than 3 or 4 percent, so the way to solve this problem is to build the track so that it loops over itself. Here in the Rockies, this is a common problem - lots of mountains with Silver and Gold in difficult to get to places.

The Train Workshop in Georgetown

Taking on Water in Georgetown Different solutions had to be applied to the problems encountered in these areas. The owners of the railroads had to figure out the best routes, the cheapest solution and the quickest way to get their trains into these places and start making money. Until the trains came, many people had to pack out ore on the backs of mules (about 400 lbs. capacity) or burros (about 200 lbs. capacity). This prevented anything other than the very best Gold and Silver ore to be abandoned in mine trailings dumps, because you couldn't make any money shipping it out. Gold was worth $16.00 an ounce, and Silver was worth around $1.00 an ounce at that time.

The Smelters payed out based on how well the ore assayed (ie. how much mineral there was in the shipment), and payed the owners of the mine about 50% of the value of the ore (they, after all, had to process it). The stamp mills of the day, and the methods used to further refine the ore was not all that efficient and quite a lot of good mineral was lost.
The owners of the mines wanted to process all the ore they could, but not unless the transportation costs dropped.

Crossing the Loop

At the Silver Plume Station The railroads cost per ton of ore shipped was less than half that of the other methods available, and with that, mine owners could make more money and railroad owners could make a fortune too. This inspired many creative solutions to Colorado mountain trains. Narrow Gauge lines (36 inches between tracks) allowed for sharper turns and lower construction costs. The Georgetown Loop is one of the interesting solutions. It was sadly abandoned many years ago; the tracks torn up and sold for scrap. Enough people cared about bringing this unique section of Colorado Railroad History back that an effort was started in the mid 1970s to restore it. In the early 1980s, it was back. The Steam locomotives run on oil today, and you ride in open cars, but the ride is as beautiful today as it was 100 years ago. When you get out over the bridge on the Loop, take a look down at the river, 80 to 90 feet down from where your eyes are - No wonder people were excited about this section of track.

Approaching the Loop from
the lower portion of the track

For those of you who are into unique Steam Locomotives, The Georgetown Loop has a number of Shay Engines. These are geared down to allow the train to travel on steeper grades. The entire drive mechanisum looks quite different than the Steam Engines you normally see on tracks. The Mines in the immediate area were all steep climbs 100 years ago. The Shay Locomotive can't move all that fast, but it was powerful. The trip is only an hour or so (there is a Silver mine tour that you can go on - buy your ticket at the station - when you head from Georgetown to Silver Plume).

To get there, find Denver on your Colorado map. Follow I70 out of town and up past Silver Plume to Georgetown. Now that you know where it is, figure out how to best get to this point from where-ever your starting point is.

Usually open from late May until early October every year. Call Toll Free: 1-888-4-LOOP-RR (1-888-456-6777) for more information or send them an Email.

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