Moffat Tunnel, Colorado Railroad

Moffat Tunnel is named after David Moffat, as you may have guessed. He was a well-known Denver banker who earned a lot of money in the gold fields of Florence and Cripple Creek.

David Moffitt built the rail line in the Denver area with the dream of constructing a tunnel through the mountains. His was the highest rail line ever built in North America - it covered 23 miles over Rollins Pass. At Corona it actually reached an altitude of 11,600 feet.

Unfortunately, Moffat was not able to accomplish his dream. In 1911 his company failed, and he perished soon after. Following his death, the Moffat Tunnel Commission was created so that the Moffat Tunnel could begin construction in 1923. In February 1927 the tunnels from the east and west side were completed. The tunnel ended up being 6.2 miles long and a good replacement for the 33 miles of track that used to climb overhead. Because of the tunnel the travel time from East Portal to West Portal was cut down from 5 hours to 12 minutes in any weather. At the present time, 12 to 16 trains go through the tunnel each day.

Thousands of skiers from the eastern slope use the tunnel to reach the base of the ski slopes in Winter Park.