The immediate goal was Gunnison. The Denver and Rio Grande was cutting a path through Marshall Pass while the Denver, South Park and Pacific expensively blasted the Alpine tunnel. The first train, The D&RG locomotive #71, entered Gunnison at 2:40 P.M. 0n August 6, 1881.
In need of a good coal supply for it’s locomotives and more traffic to support the new spur, D&RG headed for “The Butte”, an easy valley grade away. The locals could hardly wait…and neither could Gunnison, which faced the prospect of an early winter coal shortage. The tracks arrived November 21st, the station opened the 24th and the first shipment, four boxcars and thirteen carloads of coal, arrived in Gunnison November 29, 1881. Crested Butte to Denver was now only a one day trip.
The Denver, South Park and Pacific arrived in Gunnison almost a year later, on September 1, 1892 and cut a line up Ohio Creek to Baldwin for it’s coal source.
Sources: “The Gunnison Train” by Jerry B. Day and “When Coal Was King” by Duane A.
Smith
Rob Quint
Fascinating!