Editor’s note: This article originally ran in the Leadville Herald-Democrat on July 18. Reprinted with permission.
The collapse of the old Denver & Rio Grande tunnel on U.S. 24 takes readers back to 1890 when the tunnel was first constructed.
According to drgw.net, a website dedicated to preserving the history of the Western D&RG Railroad, the railroad line leading from Salida to Malta, just south of Leadville, was constructed as part of the narrow-gauge extension of the Royal Gorge Route in 1880.