Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway

Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway

Locale	Colorado
Dates of operation	1897–1920
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway was a 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railroad operating in the U.S. state of Colorado around the turn of the 20th century.

On April 13, 1897, Lucian D. Ross, Thomas Burk, James L. Lindsay, W.T. Doubt and Kurnel R. Babbitt organized the Cripple Creek District Railway Company to operate a 6.25-mile (10.06 km) 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge railway with an overhead line between Cripple Creek and Victor, Colorado. The "Pikes Peak gold rush" of 1859 brought many would-be gold miners to the eastern base of Pikes Peak but only those that went north to Cherry Creek found any minerals that were valuable. The rest went home empty handed and the Pikes Peak region gained a poor reputation as a potential gold area. Finally in 1890, rocks from Bob Womack's persistent digging were assayed in Colorado Springs showing that the rock actually contained gold. This led to the formation of the Cripple Creek Mining District on April 5, 1891.

Better transportation than wagons was urgently needed to access the newly formed mining district. During 1894 a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line, known as the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad was built at a cost of $500,000. The Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad extended forty miles (64 km) and reached the district from the Arkansas River to the south in 1894. This was quickly followed by the 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Midland Terminal Railway coming from a connection with the Colorado Midland Railway to the north. This one was thirty miles (48 km) long and cost $25,000 per mile to construct. The two railroads, competitive at first, joined forces forming a monopoly. Mine owners with mills in Colorado City adjacent to Colorado Springs organized and built The Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek Railroad or "Short Line" traversing the south slope of Pikes Peak. The new railroad was able to force freight rates downward accelerating production. At peak capacity, the Midland Terminal Railway operated ten trains a day. One train carried parlor cars and sleepers and offered champagne dinners on overnight excursions from Denver. Freight cars hauled coal, lumber, explosives, machinery, fruit and other luxuries. Outbound, the same cars carried ore for delivery to reduction mills, such as the Golden Cycle, Standard, Telluride, and Portland mills at the western edge of Colorado Springs. The name was changed to Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek District Railway on November 17, 1899. An extension to Colorado Springs opened in April 1901. The Colorado and Southern Railway directed operations from 1904 to 1911.