CRA No. 34 - Take the Pike's Peak Route
$79.95
Take the Pike’s Peak Route: Passenger Trains on the Colorado Midland, 1887-1900
Colorado Rail Annual No. 34, by Adrian and Art Hundhausen

This Colorado Railroad Museum’s latest Annual is the result of authors Adrian and Art Hundhausen’s lifelong interest in the Colorado Midland Railroad. This is a book that fans of the Colorado Midland won’t want to miss!

The road’s history from 1887 to 1900 is detailed, along with the human side of the Midland narrative. Colorful stories found in this new volume include the trials and tribulations of Midland employees, drunken Swedish miners who fell off the train, and a father chasing his runaway daughter to Leadville serve as fascinating examples.

Interesting chapters such as “Spooky Victorian Railroad Stations and Hotels,” “Ride With a Mormon to Old Mexico,” and “Trip With a Kodak over Hagerman Pass” compel further reading. Salient topics - such as the 1894 Cripple Creek Strike and the Pullman boycott in Colorado - are covered in much greater detail than in previous books.

A selection of timetables and advertising brochures is faithfully reproduced, showcasing the vivid color and imaginative illustrations used by CM in the 19th century. Plentiful diagrams of Pullman cars, maps of Midland trackage, and schematics of depots are included.

This carefully researched and artistically written work features 368 pages filled with 461 illustrations, including 86 in full color; 27 maps; 35 plans and equipment drawings; extensive endnotes; and an index. Casebound and smythe-sewn, with a handsome full-color dustjacket, oblong 11”x8-1/2”.

Review of Colorado Rail Annual No. 34 by David Mrozek, the Publication Review Editor for the Michigan Railfan:
TAKE THE PIKE’S PEAK ROUTE, PASSENGER TRAINS ON THE COLORADO MIDLAND, 1887-1910 by Adrian and Art Hundhausen.
Published by the Colorado Railroad Museum, P. O. Box 10, Golden, CO 80403.
368 pages, 461 illustrations (86 in color), 27 maps, 35 equipment drawings, forward, prologue, footnoted text, indices, 8 3/4 x 11” format, hardbound with laminated color dust jacket.

Just shy of a century ago, the Colorado Midland Railroad held its final shareholders meeting on April 28, 1922 to dissolve the corporation. While many railways took on the Colorado Rockies as narrow gauge entities, the Colorado Midland built its line through the mountains to standard gauge specifications. Despite its substantial underpinnings, circumstances from both within and outside the company prevented the Midland from being able to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its 1883 incorporation. Sadly, it was outlived by many of its narrow gauge counterparts. When the railroad completed its main line between Colorado Springs and New Castle, Colorado in 1888, its passenger trains crossed the continental divide via the Hagerman tunnel at an elevation of 11,528 feet. Between 1887 and 1901, the Midland’s scenic passenger service was orchestrated by two exceptional marketing men, Charles Lee and William Bailey – their beautiful passenger timetables and promotional brochures continue to be highly sought after collectibles today.

This exhaustive study examines the passenger service offerings of the Colorado Midland from its beginnings in 1887 to 1900, when the Rio Grande Western and the Colorado & Southern each acquired a 50 percent interest in the Midland – the first in a chain of events that changed the trajectory of the company. Authors Art and Adrain Hundhausen are a father/ son team who together have been seeking new information on this railroad, which took on fallen flag status 100 years ago. And unearthed new information they have done – a treasure trove it, including Pullman records detailing sleeping cars that ran on the Midland and the exact routes they were assigned and when, and newspaper articles from communities along the line containing stories of the passengers who rode the trains and the employees who operated them. The accounts concerning the initiation of Denver-Oakland transcontinental service in 1890, the D&RG/Colorado Midland passenger fare rate war of 1893 that was taken to ridiculous levels, and the 1899, 77-day snow blockade on Hagerman Pass were interesting reads that provided new insights into these important events in the Midland’s history. With this volume, the authors have added immensely to the understanding of this Colorado railroad legend.
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