Over the Georgetown Loop: A History of The Georgetown, Breckenridge & Leadville Railway

Hardcover, 192 pages, 8.

5 x 11 in., B&W photographs and illustrations. The Georgetown, Breckenridge and Leadville Railway was incorporated in 1880 to merge with Colorado Central Railroad, build west to the mining camps in the Colorado mountains, connect with Denver, South Park and Pacific, and compete with the larger Denver & Rio Grande.

Built in 1883, the Loop was an engineering marvel of the day, solving the problem of linking the towns of Silver Plume and Georgetown (only two miles apart), but with more than 600 feet in elevation difference. The Loop was more than 4.6 miles of track, including two hairpin turns and a viaduct where the route looped 100 feet over itself within the narrow mountain valley.

This allowed the railroad grade to be traversed by conventional trains. In addition to serving the mines, the line proved a popular tourist destination. Indeed, the rebuilt Loop has hosted tens of thousands of riders each year since 1974. This new book details the history of the line until its abandonment in 1938.