"The Moffat tunnel - Colorado Railroad history" East Portal by caffeine_induced78

East Portal Travel Guide: 2 reviews and 1 photos

East Portal - Moffat tunnel - East Portal

The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad connects the cities of Denver with Salt Lake City. The original grade goes up and over Corona Pass. The 6.2 mile bore was completed in 1928 with the expense of 29 lost lives. At one point during construction the entire lake of Lower Crater Lake drained into the tunnel through a fissure in the rock. This is nothing much to look at unless you have an interest in history or engineering. UP won't let you walk up anywhere close to the tunnel - for safety's sake given the large amount of activity.

To get there for a nice Sunday drive go up Colorado Hwy 119 to Rollinsville turn West at the Rollins Pass Road and continue down this dirt road for about 15 miles. When I went in late Sep. the aspen were turning and fresh snow was on the mountaintops.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Very quiet road in Mountain valley
Cons:dirt road with potholes made for bumpy ride.
In a nutshell:Only for those who like to wander

Last visit to East Portal: Sep 2002
Intro Written Sep 26, 2002
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Reviews (2)

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Don't stay too long. Favorites (1)

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Comments (5)

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o00o Feb 20, 2003 at 10:12 PM

Nice tips & info..
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craic Feb 14, 2003 at 3:06 PM

Running out of pages to read Bryant. Get busy.
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cbeaujean Nov 29, 2002 at 2:20 AM

tks for the interesting railway History....the actual line is a scenic one....
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giampiero6 Oct 2, 2002 at 6:17 PM

Cooooollll!
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ATLC Sep 29, 2002 at 11:36 PM

Sounds like a place from a creepy movie !