Tressels and Hard Hats

Tuesday, June 8th

Today felt a little like the movie "Groundhog Day", as we went through the same routine as yesterday to get ready to go to Georgetown. About 10, we pulled out and headed West on I-70 about 33 miles to Gerogetown. We arrived at the depot, and got our tickets, then we drove back into town to get lunch (Subway) and took it back to the depot to eat. We sat outside, and enjoyed the weather as we ate. A small ground squirrel came by to beg for food, right at our feet! He was not there long, so no picture.

After we ate, we walked around and took some pics and looked at the gift shop. At 11:45, it was time to board the train. (See here for more information on the Georgetown Loop).

Our Engine was a diesel, No. 21. The Rocky Mountain Steel Mills (formerly Colorado Fuel & Iron) of Pueblo donated the No. 21, a 1940s-era, 44-ton General Electric diesel/electric locomotive to the Colorado Historical Society to use for backup operations and maintenance at the park. The railroad industry nicknamed this particular type of locomotive “Critter” or “Big Critter.” It pulled tons of steel ingots at the plant and operated in that capacity until the 1980s. The engine then sat idle and unnoticed in a field for many years. In 2004, staff at the plant recognizing its historic value made arrangements to donate it to the society. Narrow gauge locomotives in this weight class are becoming very rare because of modernization and the operational switch to standard gauge equipment.

We picked a coach car that had open windows and bench seating – that way we could sit looking out, and still get sun protection. The mining towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume lie two miles apart in a steep, narrow mountain canyon. To connect the two, the railroad’s builders designed a “corkscrew” route that traveled twice the distance, with tracks that scale an elevation of 640 feet over mountainous terrain, requiring trestles, cuts, fills, loops, and curves totaling 3.1 miles of narrow gauge track. There are four bridges across Clear Creek, including the massive Devil’s Gate High Bridge.

 Walking to the boarding platform, I had a postcard perfect view of the train coming back over the Devil's Gate High Bridge

Selfie with the train!

The first thing they did was back us up the tracks so we could go directly under the Devil’s Gate High Bridge. Then, we continued the corkscrew up and over the bridge, and on to Silver Plume. We saw a deer along the way, as well as other beautiful scenery, including waterfalls and forests.

View of the bridge from the tracks below.

Going over the bridge!

View looking towards Georgetown

View of the river and tracks below

View looking toward the depot and the tracks we came from

Once we arrived in Silver Plume, we had about a 15 minute layover to look around and see the depot.

The rail yard at Silver Plume

Unloading

The depot

Another view of the rail yard, including the steam-powered shay engine.

Us, waiting for the train to depart again.

Another railcar

Then, we boarded again, to head back to the siding for the mine tour, where we would deboard. About 15 minutes from Silver Plume, we got off the train for the Lebanon Mine EXTENDED Tour. The mine tour takes visitors 500 feet into a mine tunnel bored in the 1870s. The temperature inside the mine is a constant 44 degrees.

We had to walk down a hill from the platform a little ways to get to the entrance. We originally gathered at the entrance to a sister mine, the Everett Mine, which was closed, to get instructions and safety info. from our tour guide, JR. We then walked down some more slope to get to the Lebanon mine entrance. We had to wear hard hats to enter the mine. Luckily, for the extended tour, we were broken off from the large group right away, and there were only seven of us, a family of five, and us. It was great, because you could see and hear everything JR was telling us. He was VERY informative and a great guide.

The Everett Mine entrance

Lebanon Mine

The black stuff oozing out of the rocks is evidence of silver ore.

The extended mine tour goes into the newly re-opened southwest Lebanon tunnel that curves from the main Lebanon access tunnel toward the closed Everett Mine. This tour took us over 900 feet into Leavenworth Mountain (under I-70!). This tunnel follows a section of the Hise ore body that extends from the silver mines of Silver Plume to the Silver Queen mine in Georgetown. We saw naturally occurring “silver pearls”, calcified hobnail boot prints, calcite dams, stalactites that are over 100 years old. JR turned out all the lights and lit a candle, so we could witness what working conditions were like for the miners. He also did a demo of how the miners chiseled the holes to place dynamite charges in the solid granite rock. At the end of the tour, we received a gold and silver ore sample from the mines along Clear Creek.

The tour was great, and JR said he could keep us down there all day showing and telling us stuff about the mine, but we had a train to catch so we hussled up the hill to the platform, and boarded the train back to Georgetown. We had a really great time!

Back over the bridge!

After the train ride, we were a little hungry so we went into downtown Gerogetown and had a handmade ice cream cone at Georgetown Valley Candy Company. I had chocolate peanut butter, and Tony had chocolate chip, both in a sugar cone. It hit the spot! Afterwards, we wandered up and down the street to look in the shops. We found a nice “WELCOME” sign for Mammoth, and a piece of pottery for our collection.

Ice cream, Yum!

Up and down the main street of Gerogetown.

Welcome sign we purchased in Georgetown. It's positioned directly across from the entrance door.

On our way home, we stopped in Frisco and got a few groceries, then headed home. I did some work for a while, and Tony cooked spaghetti. We ended up going to bed pretty early, since we were both tired from the day’s events.

Tomorrow, we head to Leadville, for the Leadville Colorado & Southern Railway trip.