The Moffat Road: Through the Divide Cities in the West were dependent on the railroads for their development. Denver, in Particular was one such city, owing to its isolated position in the middle of the country, far from major rivers such as the Mississippi which could transport manufactured goods and commerce to and from the city. To Denver there came men who had a vision for this young city on the high Plains, and who set out to see that dream come true. These men knew that for Denver to prosper, the city needed to be linked to the transcontinental railroad network. Many of these men with vision wanted to build that link directly west from the city, regardless of the obstacles they faced in conquering the Continental Divide. Though there was money to be made in a venture of this scale, theit primary motivation came not from the profits to be had in completing such a venture, but a desire to make their city the foremost city of the Rocky Mountain West David H. Moffat was one such man, He came to love his adopted home city, and spent large sums of money to help Denver develop into the dominant city of the region. He was a ‘wealthy and powerful man who was accustomed to getting his way; he refused to settle for second best in any task he set his mind to. His dream was of linking Denver with the transcontinental rail network — not to the north, nor to the south, but directly west from the city, When Moffat gave voice to building a link straight west from Denver, he was faced with Stiff opposition from various quarters, much of it man-made. Moffat elected to begin construction of his railroad despite that opposition. His successors finished what David Moffat started. They won the financial battle to complete both the railroad and the tunnel under the Continental Divide, only to face a much more unforgiving opponent ~ Nature herself. Rather than give up, the successors to the Moffat legacy. like Moffat himself, persevered in spite of all that they faced. They could have simply given up in the face of all the difficulties that were‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 2 encountered in the completion of the tunnel, but like Moffat, the heirs to the legacy of the Moffat Road were going to finish what they started, no matter what. Profit no doubt played a part in what started David Moffat on the construction of the Moffat Road, but it was primarily a love of Denver and the desire to develop the city that kept Moffat on his chosen path. When Moffat's venture was persistently opposed by out of state interests, it became a desire to do what he wanted, despite the expense, and against the odds ~ and most importantly — regardless of being told ‘no’ that motivated Moffat to sce his dream through to completion. It was this spirit which motivated not only Moffat, but his successors to keep his dream alive after his death. The arguments which are made by historians regarding the development of the railroads, both transcontinental and intrastate, are predominantly about money. There was considerable profit to be made in having a railroad run within a state from place to place, as in Colorado's case, but also from one state to another. The gold and silver mines, the timber, the coal, and other resources in the Rocky Mountains were a source of considerable wealth, and those raw materials needed a way to get to market, The interstate railroads came to Denver and from the city to the open markets to the East. The intrastate — and interstate — railroads proved to be a vital means of getting gold, silver, timber, and so on out of the mountains and to the market, be it local or eventually nationally. Yes, David Moffat and his railroad would have profited handsomely upon the completion of the Moffat Road, but that profit was a secondary consideration, Moffat wanted to see Colorado and Denver grow, and he recognized that in order to do so, Denver needed to be placed‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide squarely on the transcontinental rail network, It also needed its own independent railroad connecting to the transcontinental railroad, not one controlled by out of state interests. It should be noted, however, that the initial impetus for building the first transcontinental railroad came not from private business interests, but from the federal government itself. In James Ward’s book Railroads and the Character of America, 1820-1887, he cites that the justification for building a national railroad network sprung from a need for national unity.' It was only jaicr, after the Civii War that the railroads became a source of profit the empire builders like those in charge of the Union Pacific railroad, for example, For those builders, such as Cyrus K. Holliday, who is associated with the Santa Fe Railroad, John Murray Forbes of the Burlington railroad, along with the Vanderbilts, Russell Sage and John Insley Blair, amongst others, fostering the spread of a national network spelled pure profit; for this profit to be cut into was unacceptable to many of the railroad barons. The central figure in the opposition to the Moffat Road was embodied in the form of Edward H. Harriman, with whom David Moffat butted heads with time and again during the building of the Moffat Road.” Moffat was not one to let this, obstacle in the form of one powerful man, nor the natural hurdles of the Rocky Mountains to stand in his way. He was determined to see his dream through one way or another, in spite of the opposition. David H. Moffat (July 22, 1839 ~ March 18, 1911) was born in Washingtonville, New York on July 22, 1839. In 1850, at the age of 12, he left home, and found work in a New York bank as a messenger boy.’ This early involvement in the banking business lasted until the day Moffat died. After moving to Des Moines, lowa, and then to Omaha, Nebraska, Moffat gambled ' James Ward, Railroads avd the Character of America 1820-1877, sis, Vol. 79, No.1 (March 1988), 162. 2 Technology and Culture, Vol. 43, No.1 (Ian, 2002), 169-170. * Denver Republican, March 19, 1911, p. 6.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide on real estate in Omaha, doing so well in that venture that he’d become a millionaire before his, twenticth birthday.’ Doing so meant that Moffat was free to go wherever he chose, and to do whatever he pleased. Even at that early age, Moffat had a keen business sense, and saw opportunity further west. Taking his money, and seeking opportunity, Moffat moved to Denver in 1860, opening an unprofitable bookstore located on Blake Strect between Fifteenth and Sixteenth Street in what would become lower downtown Denver’, eventually selling it off and reentering the banking world, this time with the First National Bank of Denver in April, 1865.6 Moflat was elected cashier of the bank in 1867, and in time reached the position of president of the bank in 1880, retaining that position for the remainder of his life.” For all that he eventually accomplished for the state of Colorado and the city of Denver, Moffat never intended to stay in Denver, desiring only to stay long enough to raise enough money to take him back east to New York.* “ Ridgar C. McMechen, The Moffat Tunnel of Colorado: An Epic of Empire Vol, 1 (Denver, Co, Wahlgren Publishing Go, 1927) p. 44 5 Denver Republican, March 19, 1911, 9.6. $ Demver Republican, March 19, 1911, p. 6. Tibi, p. 6 * MeMechen, Vol. 1 p. 48.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide David H. Moffat circa 1898. uupsiiial dem /edm/sinalsitem/colletion/p1S330coID2//71670Nre/3) Since the discovery of gold in California at Sutter’s Mill in 1849, there were very few reliable methods to get from the east coast to the west coast; stagecoach and wagon train were two of the most reliable methods in use at the time. Both methods, however, often took months to traverse the continent, and were therefore highly inefficient as a method of interstate commerce. The Santa Fe Trail and the Overland trail both bypassed Colorado in favor of easier terrain and lower passes in Wyoming and southern Colorado,” a pattern which would repeat itself in the years to come with the advent of the railroads. In many ways, these two stage lines would determine the route of the future Transcontinental Railroad."? ° MeMechen, vol], p.27 "Ibid, p. 27.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide THE OVERLAND TRAIL TO OREGON AND CALIFORNIA THE TRAIL ~ OTHER PATHS ‘The Overland Tri, tes 1850 (xv sshisien orlando Vsurorasnlreljeg)‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide ‘THE “ \A NTA FE Since wagons and stagecoaches were inherently inefficient movers of commerce and passengers from point to point, particularly over the long distances of the continental United States, a search was on for a more economical method of interstate commerce, which of course involved finding the shortest, most efficient route possible; rapid and economical construction were the primary factors in the route which the first of the transcontinental railroads would follow."! The Continental Divide, which runs along the spine of the Rocky Mountains, was the ‘greatest stumbling block to crossing the continent, whatever the chosen method of travel. What became the state of Colorado sits squarely across the middle of the Divide, which ranges in the state from ten to fourteen thousand feet above sea level. These elevations, coupled with the steep " McMechen, vol. 1, p. 24,‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide terrain accompanying them, made it impractical for the stage lines and freight lines — and later the transcontinental railroad — to proceed directly west out of Denver to the West Coast Geography played a major role in forcing the transcontinental routes to the north and to the south of the state, where the passes are lower, and the terrain casier to traverse, The Federal government knew that wagon freight would never unite the nation into a cohesive whole, and that the Continental Divide made using horses and wagons to move commerce both east and ‘west virtually impossible on the kind of scale needed to unite the country. With the growing talk of secession and civil war growing in the early 1850s, it was thought in Congress that a transcontinental railroad was going to be a military necessity in preventing the splintering of the country into two separate nations, and in the event of civil war, vital to national defense,"* Thus, on March 1, 1853, Congress authorized surveys to decide the best route for a transcontinental railroad"’, and if possible, to locate a better route west than that of the Overland Trail (sec map above). The Federal government felt that crossing of the continent by the railroads ‘would promote interstate commerce, develop the interior of the United States by encouraging, settlement, and concurrently encourage the development of industry." These surveys spurred debate about which was the better route to use to cross the continent via railroad: a southern route or a more northerly one? There were two potential railroad routes across the United States that were being debated. The first was the route that ultimately won out, proceeding west from ‘Nebraska, across the high plains, and into California. The Central route had its origins in the Pony Express, which greatly contributed to showing the practicality of this Central route. ' The other route, favored by Southern senators, proceeded west from St. Louis, running through 2 MeMechen, vol. I, p. 27 © Tid, p. 27 Union Pacific, itp ivony uprt.com/aboutuphhistoryhist-ovl 1 MeMechen, vol. 1, p, 28 & 29‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide territory that would become New Mexico and Arizona before terminating in San Francisco." ‘The Civil War put this debate regarding which route was to be the location of the first transcontinental railroad line to rest. With the secession of the Souther states in 1863, the North was free to do as it pleased, and built the first transcontinental railroad via the Central route. The initial path west followed the Platte River valley, and the Union Pacific Railroad was created to build the route westward from Omaha, Nebraska, along the Platte River Valley."” ‘that nas south into Denver and then east isthe Kansas Pacific Railroad route, (ip (/epr-ore/MiseunMaps/ ener ap il) Construction began on the transcontinental railroad in 1863, and was completed when the Union Pacific Railroad met the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869 where a golden spike was driven to commemorate the historic meeting. * The railroad was considered to be one of the greatest American technological feats of the nineteenth century. Initially known as the ‘Pacific Railroad” when it opened, the Transcontinental Railroad served as a vital link for trade, commerce, and travel and opened up vast regions of the North American *© MeMechen, vol. Lp. 28 2 thid,hnxpl/wwo.prtcorvvaboutup/history/hst-ov/hist-ov2 shim (Feb. 26, 2012) "Union Pacific, Union Pacific Chronological History, tip |/www uprr comn/aboutup/history/uprr-chr shim! (Oct. 26, 2011).‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 10 heartland for settlement, just as Congress had desired back in 1853. Shipping and commerce could thrive away from navigable rivers such as the Mississippi for the first time since the beginning of the nation. ‘The construction of the great railroad meant an end to the stagecoach lines that had initially brought people and goods to and from Colorado ~ as well as to points farther to the west. The train service was less dangerous, and most importantly, faster than a horse-drawn stage." Promontory Point, Vs, 1869 (hp/ivnew aps gov/sospindes in) ‘The citizens, political, and business leaders of Denver had believed that the officials of the Union Pacific Railroad in constructing their transcontinental railroad, would bring this transcontinental line through Denver, and indeed, during the initial surveys of a potential route across the continent, the directors of the Union Pacific certainly preferred to bring their main line through the city.” The chief engineer of the Union Pacific, General Grenville M. Dodge joined a survey party in Colorado in November, 1866 to sce what the local geographical conditions were like in the Rocky Mountains firsthand. Dodge and his engineers were attempting to find a way over the Divide near Berthoud Pass when they were caught in a blizzard, where they nearly met ° Union Pacific, Union Pacific Historical Overview — Building a Road, i j!v-vw prt com/aboutup/history/hist= ‘oy/hist-oy2 shir! (Oct. 26, 2011). * MeMechen, val. 1, p. 50.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide W their death.”” It was this experience more than anything else that served to convince Dodge that it would be better to run the Union Pacific route through Wyoming, bypassing Denver entirely. Many of Denver's citizens, on hearing the news that the Union Pacific was not coming to Denver, left for Cheyenne. This migration north made it appear that Denver was to become just another boom town on the high plains.” This grim situation was that which Denver officials faced in 1866. Bypassed by the Union Pacific railroad, Denver was slowly dwindling away with the migration of her population north to Wyoming, and city officials found themselves unable to raise much interest with other railroad companies to run a line across the Rockies. ust over a year later, an incident occurred which roused the powerful figures in Denver commerce and politics to take action in reviving the fortunes of their dying city. This renewal of preventing the city from becoming more than just a boom town came at the hands of — ironically enough — the Vice President of the Union Pacific Railroad, which, in bypassing Colorado entirely, had been the reason why the growth of Denver as a major city had faltered. Word reached Denver officials that Vice President T.C. Durant had remarked during a casual conversation that the city was, in his words, “too dead to bury”.”* ‘This remark had the remarkable effect of shaping all that was to come in Denver's railroading history. In response, the Denver Pacific Railroad was founded by David Moffat, John Evans, John Pierce and other powerfull Denver business and political figures, with the objective of running a railroad line north from Denver to Cheyenne. This venture by Moffat into the world of interstate railways came at the request of then Territorial Governor John Evans, who sought to enlist Moffat in building a railroad which would connect Denver with the Union Pacific railroad 2! McMechen, vol. 1, p. 51 2 Ypid, p52 ® Ibid, p55.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 12 line in Cheyenne.” The Union Pacific agreed to lay rails “when local interests had built the grade,” but ultimately reneged on this pledge. It took intervention from Territorial Governor Evans and the president of the Kansas Pacific Railroad to complete the Denver Pacific line, which opened for traffic on June 24, 1867. This route north and its connection with the growing. transcontinental railroad network was only a temporary fix as far as David Moffat was concerned, His goal had become having a direct route from Denver to the West Coast, and the Denver Pacific railroad was the first instances of David Moffat being directly involved in an interstate railroad.” Prior to 1867, Moffat had had interests in several intrastate railroads which ran to his mining interests in Colorado, but nothing more. In the wake of the completion of the Denver Pacific railroad, Colorado developed from a territory to a state, with a population of 194,327. The city of Denver grew to a population of 35,629 during the same period ”” Six years prior to the territory becoming a state, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad was incorporated in 1870, and at the behest of General William J. Palmer, who had been an engineer with the Kansas Pacific railroad (whose president had rescued the struggling Denver Pacific RR), the Denver & Rio Grande shifted its route over the Divide from Denver further south. Like the ‘engineers of the Union Pacific, Palmer felt that the best route across the Divide was not directly ‘west of Denver; contrary to the Union Pacific’s solution, however, he looked rather to the south, of the city, not north. Once the incorporation of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad had been ‘completed, Palmer decided that the route through the Royal Gorge and thence out to Salt Lake * Denver Republican March 19, 1911, p. 6. 2 MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 56. ® Denver Republican March 19, 1911, p. 7 ”” Charter of the City & County of Denver, 1916 p. 14,‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 13, City™ was the best option available. Once again, Denver had been snubbed as a central railroad hub, thanks to the daunting wall of the Rocky Mountains looming to the west of the city. ‘The railroad route that became known as the Moffat Road had its modest beginnings in Tune, 1901.” Surprisingly, it was not conceived of as an interstate railway; rather, the Moffat Road had its beginnings as part of the Denver City Tramway Company, an interurban railway in which Moffat had Jarge sums of his own money invested.” The president of the Denver Tramway proposed a plan to Moffat to extend the Denver Tramway system over the Continental Divide to Hot Sulphur Springs" which Moffat gave his approval to, leading to the incorporation of the Denver & Northwestern Railway. This early incarnation of what would become the Moffat Road was initially intended to link Denver to Greeley, Louisville, Boulder, Golden and Littleton; later amendments would run a line to south Boulder, over Rollins Pass to Middle Park and the aforementioned Hot Sulphur Springs.”? Shortly after these amendments, Moffat, for reasons of his own, announced his intention to build not the proposed intrastate electrical tramway, but an interstate steam railroad to Salt Lake City from Denver.” Why out to Salt Lake City, and not directly to the west coast? There was already several million dollars which were being forecast to be spent to construct the railroad out to Utah. To take on the further expense of a line to the coast ‘was seen as prohibitive by Moffat and other investors, when Salt J.ake City was already served by several railroads which already ran to the west coast - among them the Union Pacific. “ ® Denver Republican March 19, 1911, p77 ” McMechen, vol. 1 p. 105. ® Denver Republican, March 19, 1911 p. 10. 2! MeMechen, vol Ip. 105 2 Ibid, p. 106. ® MeMechen, Vol 1, p. 106, >» Tbid,p. 169.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 4 ‘Though Moffat spent considerable sums of his own personal fortune™ on building the Moffat Road, he and the board of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad would, with difficulty, also raise capital from other investors from outside the state. Upon beginning the construction of the Moffat Road, it was estimated that to construct Mofft’s route across the Continental Divide would cost approximately sixteen million dollars, plus another four million dollars for stations and tunnels.®* Moffat recognized his railroad across the top of the Divide was ‘going to be unfeasible to operate in the long run, due to the extremes in elevation, the grades involved — and most importantly — the weather above timberline where the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific would spend a considerable amount of time operating, For Moffat, the line over the mountains was only a temporary fix; he fully intended to construct a tunnel wader the Divide as soon as possible.*” This steam railroad — not electric, and not interurban, but interstate ~ was incorporated on July 18, 1902 as the Denver, Northwestem & Pacific Railroad. The route which this railroad eventually followed, both before and after the Moffat Tunnel was constructed — and which is still in use to this day — came to be known as the Moffat Road. ‘The initial investors/incorporators of the Moffat Road reads like a list of who’s who in this period of Colorado history, and includes David Moffat himself, Walter S. Cheesman (who was responsible for expanding Denver's water infrastructure between 1872 and 1907"), William G. Evans (oldest son of Territorial governor John Evans™), and Charles J. Hughes, Jr. (who would later become the Senator from. Denver Republican March 19, 1911 p. 6. © Rocky Mountain News, March 22, 1902 p. 1. 37 McMechen, vol. 1, pp. 108 and 109, 8 Cheesman Park History itl cheesmanpark net0\/pages/history-OL html (accessed 04-08-12) 2 William Gray Evans hitp [won denverstorytrek. ong/people/29de2000034 lef (accessed 04-08-12)‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 15 Colorado”), The initial investors, like Moffat, saw enormous benefit to Colorado in the construction of the Moffat Road — coal, timber, cattle, farming and mining were all to be developed and used to aid the development of Denver and Colorado" ~ and the links to the rest of the nation that the Moffat Road would provide, though this link would eventually be denied not only to Moffat’s fledgling railway, but the state as well by a very powerful figure in the Union Pacific Railroad — E.H. Harriman. Edward Henry Harriman was born in New Jersey in 1848, to an ordained deacon in the Presbyterian Church, and a well-connected socialite from New Jersey."° Like David Moffat, Harriman left home as a young boy, and in this case, got a job not as a messenger at a bank, but on Wall Street. He rose quickly in the business world, culminating in his becoming member number 281 of the NY Stock Exchange on August 13, 1870. In 1890, Harriman took charge of the Union Pacific Railroad, and from that position, came to oppose David Moffat’s venture in Colorado. Harriman’s power rested on his very capable representation of Union Pacific interests. To that end, he assumed control over numerous railroads during his career, beginning with control of the Southern Pacific in 1901.*° Harriman’s efforts to gain a controlling interest in the Burlington Railroad were foiled by an associate of Moffat, one James J. Hill; this caused Harriman to tur his attention to the Northern Pacific railroad, and was given a seat on the board of the that railroad in June 1901." With this coup, Harriman turned his focus onto the last © MeMechen, vol. I, p. 125, 2 Meehan vol tp. 110 © Edward Henry Harriman, bitp://woww pbs org/harriman/1899/1899_parvpartcipanthrtiman.huml, Accessed 03- 1 oyhond of Edverd Henry Herrinar bw. orsringe/ 1499/1999 parvhuinan, bo apcessed 03-12-2012 * MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 109. “ Thid, p. 109.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 16 remaining railroad to the Pacific which he did not have either influence or control over — the Santa Fe railroad. One by one, Denver's ~ and more importantly, the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad’s access to the Pacific via existing railroads were being closed off by Harriman and the Union Pacific railroad. Moffat also found his ability to attract investors in his Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad was severely limited by Harriman’s growing power and influence. Harriman had spent a significant sum of money in his bid to modemize the Unien Pacific Railroad, and had, according to an article in the Denver Republican, constantly “asserted his right to absolute supremacy in the transportation situation”."” Also according to the Denver Republican, Harriman “refused to stand for a rival line... to “pluck his plums.’ The ‘plums’ in this case were located in Routt county, Surveys made by the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad revealed that there were some nine hundred square miles of coal to be exploited in the ‘Yampa region, one quarter of which was claimed by the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad." Harriman ~ and the Union Pacific railroad ~ had long had his eye on this particular prize, President Burt of the Union Pacific “[I]s said to have made the statement... that the territory belonged to the Union Pacific and that no other road would be allowed to go in there.””” This sizeable coal field represented a windfall to be exploited by the winning railroad company. In addition, lumber was a big draw to the region, as well as iron which could be mined in Routt ‘County, and the refining of iron into steel requires coking coal, something which the Routt county fields could provide as well."' The potential profits to be made from not only the mining of this coal and steel and the utilization of lumber were staggering. But more to the point, the * Denver Republican Merch 19, 1911, p. 7. * bid, p. 7. Denver Times April i, 1903 p. 4. *© Derwer Times April 7, 1903 p. 4 * Ibid, p. 4The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 7 railroad company which built into that region stood to make a substantial profit as well, charging other companies fees for the use of the rail line to ship their goods to and from the Yampa coal fields. With this in mind, the benefits of pushing through the Moffat Road become clear. Having Denver located on this line that linked directly to the West Coast would profit the city in more ways than monetary. The Moffat Road would bring people and business to the city, encouraging development of Denver as a major transportation hub ~ a hub which was not on the main Union Pacific line to the north, and more to the point, not under the control of the Union Pacific railroad, Harriman and other powerful men recognized this threat to their profit margins, and acted to thwart Moffat. Harriman, as President of the Union Pacific, certainly did not need permission to oppose Moffat, but if he had, the statement by one of Harriman’s executives, President Burt, would have given Harriman all the leeway he needed to do all he could to prevent the Moffat Road from being completed Harriman understood that the Moffat Road threatened the supremacy of the Union Pacific as the sole central trade route across the nation, Every mile that the Moffat Road eliminated from a transcontinental route, as well as the hours that would be saved in shortening the route that the ‘Union Pacific had pioneered, threatened its preeminent position and profit margins. While shortening time and distance helped promote national unity, and increased commerce, Harriman’ plans didn’t include Colorado.” Ignoring the completion of the tunnel for the ‘moment, Harriman realized that the Moffat Road would offer the shortest transcontinental route, and if handled correctly would be an independent gateway west, controlled by no single railroad ‘company, as eventually, with the completion of the tunnel, it was to become. * MeMechen, val. 1, p. 279. * Ibid, p. 280.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 18 ‘After gaining direct control -- or a controlling interest in ~ the majority of railroads which ran across this region of the continent, and closing the money markets on the east coast to Moffat,®' Harriman turned his attention to other means of preventing the construction of the Moffat road. Several conferences were held during the early part of 1904 between Harriman or his representatives, and Moffat regarding the Moffat Road. During one such meeting, Harriman indeed offered to help Moffat with his venture. A.C. Ridgeway, Vice President and general manager of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad, witnessed the conversation, Harriman offered Moffat “[FJifty per cent interest for what money” Moffat had “[PJut into the road” and further offered to “[RJaise all the funds necessary to take it to Salt Lake.” In return Harriman asked for “[F]ifty per cent of the stock”, which Moffat flatly turned down, replying to Harriman “Mr. Harriman, do you think I am a fool or a knave? I refuse your proposition. I know you better now than I have ever known you.” ** Moffat knew by the terms Harriman had offered that, if they had been agreed to, would have given Harriman the ability to halt construction of the ‘Moffat Road at any time he desired to do so, and Moffat would not have been able to do anything about it. This fateful meeting ended any attempt at compromise between the two great men. In the wake of this refusal, Harriman used his political influence to induce people within the government with whom he had influence to declare Gore Canyon, which was situated on the Moffat Road route, as a site for a government reservoir, although Moffat had, in 1903, secured the rights to build the Moffat Road through the canyon.” After a two-year legal battle, the machinations of Harriman, the New Century Light & Power Co., the United States Land Office, Demvr Ties November 16, 1905p. 9 55 MeMechen, vol. 1, pp. 117 & 118. * Ibid, p. 118. * Denver Times November 16, 1905 p9.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 19 and the United States Reclamation Service came to President Theodore Roosevelt's attention. Roosevelt personally decided to look into the matter at hand. Borings which had been made just prior to November of 1905 showed that Gore canyon was totally unfeasible as a reservoir site, as at least one hundred feet of excavation would have to be undertaken just to reach the bedrock necessary to anchor a dam, There were also questions of whether the water could be stored properly with the soil conditions in the area. These facts, when brought to Roosevelt's attention, prompted him to order the Secretary of the Interior to abandon all federal claims to Gore Canyon,” and the construction of the Moffat Road, though slowed during the Gore Canyon dispute, resumed at full speed, The next tactic to halt the construction of the Moffat Road was a placer claim controversy centered on and around James Peak, the eventual site of the Moffat Tunnel. Placer claims gives to the discoverer any mineral contained in loose soil or gravel, and the right to mine on public Jand.®” These placer claims were all located along — and across— the route which the Moffat Road would have to run over the Continental Divide, as well as where the future tunnel would be constructed. If the claims had been upheld, the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific would have had to stop construction on the Moffat Road, The Rocky Mountain News writes that the “movement has its inception in the office of a New York firm, and it is thought to be a scheme purely to hold up the road. The timing and location of the placer claims cannot have been a coincidence. Though never directly implicated in the controversy, Harriman is suspected of playing a role in its instigation. * Ibid, p 3. MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 115 What is a Mining Claim, Legally? (pio {sow mine-engine © Rocky Mountain News, March 18, 1903 p. 1 Thid, p. 1 J/exininglaimn him) accessed 04-08-12‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 20 Harriman and the Union Pacific’s next attempt to halt the Moffat Road construction was more straightforward. He decided that the Union Pacific would build into Steamboat Springs and Routt County before the area could be reached by the Denver, Northwestemn & Pacific railroad As stated in in an article published the Denver Times, Denver was to be “[P]unished by diverting the traffic to Cheyenne.“ Harriman and his agents had been negotiating with an Isaac Van Hor, president of the newly incorporated Laramie, Hahn’s Peak & Pacific railroad to push the interests of the Union Pacific Railroad into Routt County before Moffat’s railroad could reach the area,°* and had made significant progress to that end when the story broke in Denver papers in April of 1903. The premature revelation of these plans forced Harriman to publically backpedal, saying that the “[PJroposition is absurd because the road would have to eross the divide and go over 200 miles of rough country.” This venture by Harriman and the Union Pacific was apparently abandoned for reasons unknown within the scope of the research done to ‘this point. Harriman’s opposition to Moffat’s plans only served to set Moffat more firmly on his ‘chosen path of building his railroad. Moffat returned from New York to Denver just four months after the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad was incorporated, having been frustrated in his efforts to attract new investors in the new railroad.” Despite the obstacles placed in his path by Harriman and others, Moffat announced that “[A]etive opposition from the strong financial combination controlling the roads north of Denver... will not prevent the building of the road," ‘Unfortunately, just two years later, in 1907, Moffat had expended approximately nine million © Denver Times, March 31, 1903 p. 1 Denver Times, March 31, 1903 p. 1 © Dbid, p. 1 © Denver Times, April 1, 1903. © Rocky Mountain News, Dec, 13,1902 p. 1 “Bid, p. 1The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 21 dollars of his own fortune on the construction of the Moffat Road, which by this time had only reached as far west as Yarmony, forty two miles south of Steamboat Springs,” and nowhere near Salt Lake City, as had been planned within the original timeframe of two years to complete the Moffat Road. As Harriman had been successful in closing off the Eastern investors from lending their financial support to the independent railroad, Moffat was forced to swallow his pride and turn to his personal friends in Denver to help him realize the completion of his dream. Sadly, all to whom he tuned for aid refused to help, and construction of the Moffat Road was shut down entirely in 1907.” It appeared then that the dream of David Moffat of a direct line from Denver to the west coast was dead, but a glimmer of hope presented itself in the timely intervention of one Colonel D.C. Dodge, who, after taking a trip along the Moffat Road to the end of the line near Steamboat Springs, saw the untapped potential in the Routt county territory which was ripe for development, and on his return to Denver, announced that he had faith in the fledgling rail line, and urged capitalists in Denver who had heretofore refused to lend any money to the construction of the Moffat Road to “come to its aid in the interest of the state.””! Col. Dodge backed up his plea with an investment of his own — one hundred thousand dotlars’ worth of assistance, This initiative on Dodge’s part ultimately saw a total of $1.5 million raised, which ‘would see the Moffat Road through to Steamboat Springs, which it arrived at on December 13, 1908.” © MeMechen, vol. p. 118 ® MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 121 7 Tpid, p. 122. ® Rocky Mountain News, Dec. 13, 1908,The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 22 ‘The Moffat Road to date had not seen a single dollar of net profit, and had expended some fourteen million dollars in construction, and by 1911, the initial bonds which had been issued to finance the Moffat Road, which had been touted to only take one to two years to finish” had come due, and there was not a dime of profit to be had to pay off the four million dollar loan.” This, when coupled with the death of David Moffat on March 18, 1911, presented yet another crisis, hard on the heels of the financial disaster of 1907-08 which had forced Moffat to beg his friends for their assistance. It appeared that the Moffat Road was finished for good.” ‘Affer fighting tooth and nail to see his railroad completed, the man who had dreamed big, and sacrificed everything to see the city of Denver linked directly with the transcontinental railroad to the west of Denver was dead, and there was no more money to continue the construction of the Moffat Road from its terminus in Steamboat Springs out to Salt Lake City. It looked as if Harriman, the biggest opponent of the Moffat Road, had finally won his private war. But again, just when all seemed lost, the Road was resurrected. This time, politics came to the rescue. A bill was presented fo a committee within the Colorado state legislature and. passed. This bill provided public funding for the completion of the Moffat Road.” This gateway through Colorado for what was vaguely termed at the time ‘transportation purposes’.” However, the then governor of the state, John F. Shafroth, failed to approve the bill within the required time limit, and this neglect brought the State Tunnel Construction Bill to the general public for approval in 1912. It failed to pass, and the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad passed into receivership (when a person or persons is placed in custodial responsibility for the property of ‘others, which includes all tangible assets and rights). Due to incompetence on the part of the man Rocky Mountain News March 22, 1902 p. 1. ™ McMecheo, Vol. 1, p. 125. * Denver Republican, March 19, 1911, p. 1 * Denver Republican March 22, 1911, 7” MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 127,‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 23 placed in charge of the newly renamed Denver & Salt Lake railroad, the company passed into receivership once more, this time in 1917.” Prior to the first receivership, William G. Evans had succeeded Moffat as president of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific railroad”, and it was he ‘who held that position through both periods of receivership, and who would become the driving force in the completion of David Moffat’s dream, ‘The Moffat Road wound its way up Leyden Mesa northwest of Denver toward Tolland, and then along South Boulder Canyon, snaking its way toward Rollins Pass via a lengthy series of switchbacks which lessened the steep grade of the mountains along the majority of the route to an acceptable two percent™”. While a scenic wonder, this route over Rollins Pass was only intended as a temporary line, until the tunnel could be completed. A.C. Ridgway, whom Moffat had personally selected as his Vice-President and general manager of the Denver, Northwestern & Pacific, had prophetically advised Moffat not to build the proposed railroad because of the high expenses that would be involved in running a railroad line across the Divide. Moffat, already familiar with the difficulties of mountain railroad construction, replied: “I intend to build this road because I want to develop Colorado — and you are going to build it for me."*" Ridgeway’s pessimism was proven to be with reason, The Denver, Northwestem and Pacific railroad was capitalizing on the railway over Rollins Pass to a certain limited extent, but passenger traffic and what freight was able to make it over the Continental Divide was just not enough to pay the mounting bills.” * Tid, p. 133 Ibid, p. 126. Rocky Mountain News, March 22, 1902 p.2. 8 MeMechen, p.25 © The Denver, Northwestern & Pacific saw a high amount of tourist travel due to the flocd of advertising done showcasing the scenic route which the Moffat Road covered. Thousands of tourists locked tothe region to “experience the thrills of tran travel in the Rocky Mountains” (P.R. Griswold, David Moffat's Denver, Northwestern & Pacific: The Moffat Road (Denver, Co, Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, 1995, p. 134).The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 24 ‘The Moffat Road, despite bad weather which would plague the railway above timberline from around September to June (snow blockages were known to tie up the line for sixty days or more®*) was just managing to break even in operating expenses. Any profits which the railroad ‘might have realized were being consumed by keeping the Rollins Pass route open, thus preventing the funding of construction of the tunnel under the divide’, which would make the Rollins Pass route obsolete. Making the Rollins Pass portion of the Moffat Road irrelevant, and to see the railroad ~ and the city of Denver — profitable is what lead the drive by William Evans to change from private funding to complete the Moffat Road to seeking public assistance in finishing the railroad which David Moffat had started, © McMechen, Vol. I, p. 135. Ibid, p. 135.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 25 EST SERVICE U.S DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ‘The Moffat Road as it sppoetes James Pek, The dashed line indicates the defunct potion ofthe Moffat Road, which ran over Rollins Pas, end wa often unusable forlong prods of tine fom Setambe to une (tp /inypresenipas.comimages/MefTet Ronee) Tae wns portion of he ond ean becriven toy in standard pastenger ca up othe Needle Eye Tune! onthe est, anc to Coron on the west In early 1920, yet another push was made to secure public funding to run a tunnel under the mountains to the west of Denver. Mayor Dewey C. Bailey called a meeting of Colorado mayors to discuss public funding of a tunnel under the Continental Divide. Attending were mayors from the Denver Metro area, as well as mayors from the Western Slope, all of whom‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 26 stood to reap tangible benefits from completion of the tunnel. The Tri-Tunnel campaign — so named because it had at its heart a plan for three separate tunnels under the Continental Divide, not just one — had the Moffat Tunnel as its first tunnel to be constructed. The second would run under Monarch Pass, while the third was to run under Cumbres Hill near the Rio Grande narrow gauge route through the Royal Gorge.* Opposition to the Tri-Tunnel measure came from Pueblo, as well as the already established railroads, which had opposed the Moffat Road from its beginning. The railroads, of course, still saw the Moffat Road as a threat to their operations, while Puebloans saw the Tunnel as being harmful to their part of the state.*” After much political debate, the ‘Tri-Tunnel measure to provide funding for the construction of the tunnel via taxpayer assistance failed in 1921, ending yet another attempt to secure financial assistance from the citizens of Colorado. This time, however, William G. Evans, the Denver and Salt Lake railroad, and its investors were provided with a way (o keep the issue of building a tunnel in the public consciousness, rather than seeing the Moffat Road becoming a dead issue, soon to be forgotten, The discovery of oil in Moffat and Routt counties, and the increase in the production of coal mines and agriculture, as well as improvements in how to deal with the blizzards on Rollins pass, saw the railroad begin to achieve a certain measure of financial stability which it had lacked since its inception in 1902. The Moffat Road, despite the odds, was managing to survive, and it was not long until events provided for the ending of the vast majority of opposition to the state funding the construction of the long-awaited tunnel under the Divide. & MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 137. * Wid, p. 138, * id, p. 140. * Tid, pp. 146 & 147‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 27 It was after a flood on June 3, 1921 that opposition to state funds for the construction of the tunnel largely ceased. The city of Pueblo had experienced a devastating flood, and citizens in Pueblo were affaid that residents of Denver would remember their consistent opposition to funding a railroad tunnel ditectly west of Denver when the idea of building a levee to tame the Arkansas River and prevent another flood was broached. Pueblo sought state funding to finance the construction of this levee; proponents of the Moffat Tunnel scented opportunity and wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation, They made a counterproposal which asked for the formation of a tunnel improvement district, which would be similar to other municipal improvement districts. This tunnel district ultimately encompassed Denver, Grand, Routt, Moffat, Adams, Boulder, Eagle and Gilpin counties, and parts of Jefferson County.” In exchange for support from the citizens of Pueblo (who would get their levee), Denver would get its railroad tunnel under the Divide, and both measures would be funded by taxpayer money. This time, despite much political wrangling, the Denver & Salt Lake railroad got the public assistance it needed to build its tunnel. Public funding for the construction of the Moffat Tunnel would finally be secured with Governor Shoup’s signature on May 12, 1922,” and construction of the tunnel began shortly thereafter. As finally approved, the Moffat Tunnel was to be a twin bore project. The pioneer bore was to become a water tunnel", used to move water from the Western Slope to the Eastern Slope. Concurrent with the pioneer bore was the construction of the actual railroad tunnel. This simultaneous construction enabled the boring of the main railroad tunnel to proceed at a much faster pace than could otherwise be expected, as the head of the pioneer bore was kept ahead of the head of the railroad tunnel”, thus allowing engineers to see McMechen vol 2, p. 125. % MeMechen vol. I, p16] id, p. 174 * tbid, p. 214.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 28 what kind of geological conditions existed, and allowing them to prepare for, in the interests of safety, widening the main tunnel to its full size at a faster or slower pace, depending on what was found.” Much like the Moffat Road itself, building the tunnel was plagued by construction difficulties from the outset. The Tunnel was dug from the east side of the Continental Divide, and from the west side concurrently. Construction on the West Bore proceeded much more slowly than had been anticipated, due to soft, unstable ground that the tunnel was being bored through. The ground had been shattered during orographic uplift, and was saturated by water, making it unstable in the extreme. Shoring up this unstable ground did not go as well as it should have; the timbers which were used were regularly crushed by the weight they were asked to carry. In addition to the overhead weight of James Peak causing timbers to break, the ground underfoot would swell and buckle, threatening to cause the collapse of the entire western bore. Flooding too played no small role in delaying the construction of the Moffat Tunnel, in both the East Bore, and the West Bore. The East Bore flooded twice during its construction, though the delays experienced from the flooding were not nearly as lengthy as those experienced with the unstable ground found during the construction of the West Bore.** McMechen, vol. 1, p. 215. MeMechen, vol. 1, pp 214-56.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 29 "Gail The west portal ofthe Moffat Tunnel during construction, ryest%620portalY20 -oms/glimages/aof The east bore daring construction. The smal tunnel 19 the right isthe pioneer bore 120eonstrution2 0238 Finally, after almost five years of work, the Moffat Tunnel was holed through on February 12, 1927, under the supervision of CM. Paul.®* Holing through, as it is known, is considered to be a great honor for the crew which manages to accomplish this feat. But the honor has it to the winning crew also comes with a curse on the losing crew, as superst ‘Therefore, it is not a surprise that there was considerable competition between the East and West * Thid, p. 255. * Ibid, p. 255.‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 30 bore crews for the honor of first through the rock which separated the two tunnels. That first puff of freely circulating air marks a great milestone in any tunnel construction. Tt.was the graveyard crew which holed through the Tunnel in the wee hours of February 12, The West Portal crew ran a forty foot bar of steel through the soft rock which both crews were digging through at this time with their bare hands. They pushed and poked with the bar of steel until the rock between the two bores gave way.”” Well aware of the superstition of the curse which would fall on them should they lose, the Fast Portal crew grabbed the end of the bar, and tried to yank it through to their side, making them the winners and lifting the curse. C.M. Paul ‘was familiar with the ways of tunnel crews and had taken precautions to prevent this: he had had his men bend their end of the bar so as to prevent the theft. After a brief tug of war, the West Portal crew won, and light from one bore shone through to the other. Without modem technology which we take for granted, the tunnel crews had met within eleven one-hundredths of a foot, the grade within three-tenths of a foot, and the distance within one and seventy-four hundredths of a foot, a significantly noteworthy achievement when one considers methods used at the time for engineering calculations, surveying and tunneling. This triumph, however significant, was only the completion of the pioneer tunnel, not the rail tunnel”. The railroad tunnel itself was completed on July 7, 1927" without much in the way of fanfare, as the drama had long since passed with the completion of the pioneer bore in February; the first pilot train went through the tunnel on February 1928.'"' The tunnel itself, which sits at just over nine thousand feet in elevation on either side of the Divide, lessened the * Wid, p. 256. % MeMechen, vol. I p. 256 » Tid, p. 259. Ibid, p. 264 "©! Edward 7. Bollinger and Frederick Bauer, The Moffat Road, (Chicago, I Swallow Press tncorporated, 1971), p 197,‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 31 ‘two percent to four percent grade that the Moffat Road had to take in order to cross the Divide down to 0.9 percent on the east bore, and 0.3 percent on the west bore'?, a significant change, and one that is much easier for trains to handle. This reduction means a drop in operating expenses due to the decrease of ‘lift’. Lift is railroading parlance for the force of gravity which a Jocomotive and train must fight as it goes uphill. The steeper the hill, the higher the force of gravity which must be overcome. On the steeper portions of the Moffat Road, which in places on ‘the approach to Rollins Pass increased to four percent — quite steep in railroad terms ~ engines had to fight against gravity going uphill."”? ‘This translates into less freight that can be hauled; less freight equals less money, and was, in addition to the miserable weather above timberline in the winter, one of the reasons why the Moffat Road struggled as it did, All in all, the Moffat Tunnel, which David Moffat never lived to see completed, is 6.2 miles in length (32,800 feet), the sixth longest in the world; it sits at just over nine thousand fect in elevation at the east portal near Rollinsville, and west portal at Winter Park." It eliminated twenty three miles of the original Moffat Road, and with the reduced grade, allowed one engine to haul a twenty two car train from Tabernash and Denver in one half the time which it took going over Rollins Pass.'°* Crews excavated 750,000 cubic yards of rock, which is equivalent to a column one hundred feet square and 3600 feet tall.'" ‘The Moffat Tunnel performed as Moffat had envisioned, and saw Denver became the dominant city of the region, becoming a great manufacturing and distribution point in the country, due to the use of the Moffat Tunnel by at least seven different railroads, which run to and from such cities as Los Angeles, Kansas City, El Paso, Galveston, Chicago, Fort Worth, 18 MeMechen, Vol. 1, p. 171, °° Tid, p. 135. St MeMechen, vol. 1, p. 171 ‘85 Tpid, p. 134 & 135. °° Bollinger & Bauer, p. 201,‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 32 ‘Omaha, Salt Lake City, St. Paul and San Francisco.'”’ The growth of Denver from 1914-1919, all years prior to the completion of the Moffat Tunnel is impressive: the value of products ‘manufactured rose from $46,982,000 in 1914 to $125,411,000 in 1919, a one hundred sixty six percent increase.'* This municipal growth would continue after Moffat Tunnel went into ‘operation, and with the evidence which I have discovered to date, the wisdom of David Moffat and his successors becomes quite clear. The city he loved and wanted to develop was growing by leaps and bounds before the completion of the Moffat Tunnel, despite its semi-isolation off the transcontinental railroad network; it is therefore not hard to imagine what kind of growth took place after the inception of the Tunnel David Moffat and his successors fought the odds and opposition to the Moffat Road and Tunnel, and won. The story of the Moffat Road and the Tunnel spans the first two decades of the twentieth century. Moffat, by the time that he had decided to build his Road, was a very powerful and influential man in Colorado affairs. This power and influence translated into his dealings with the opposition which he faced in the construction of his independent railroad, which was probably the reat sticking point for Harriman. Moffat’s independence threatened his Union Pacific railroad, and he wasn’t one to stand for that. On Moffat’s part, he was unaccustomed to hearing the word ‘no’. Being told he could not do what he wanted to do time and again had only strengthened Moffat’s resolve to finish what he had started, regardless of what obstacles were thrown in his path by Harriman or anyone else, What had begun as a labor of love for the benefit of Colorado in general, and Denver specifically became an a struggle to see his dream finished, regardless of what Harriman wanted, Moffat’s fighting spirit and his death just when the Moffat Road was foundering financially made him something of a martyr; but in his death, his friends *7" MeMechen vol. 2, p. 81, “bid, p. 82,‘The Moffat Road: Through the Divide 33 and colleagues found the inspiration needed to see the task through to conclusion, despite the difficulties that they had encountered in getting the taxpayer assistance they needed to build the tunnel, and most importantly, regardless of all the hurdles their tunnel crews had had to overcome under James Peak. ‘Moffat Tunnel East portal today hips /2000/07/0907 rollins pass-003