History
The Cripple Creek gold rush of 1890 inspired the organizers of the Colorado Midland Railway to run a spur line south from the Colorado Midland line to the Cripple Creek District. After construction issues stopped the project, the same organizers formed a new company, the Midland Terminal Railway, and built the proposed line.
Construction began in 1893 with the first segment completed near Divide on December 9, 1893. The track reached the town of Gillette on July 4, 1894. It continued south, reaching the Portland Mine north of Victor by December 1894 and Victor Junction by mid-January 1895. During 1895 a branch in Victor was built and extended to near Independence Mine. The line reached the town of Anaconda by the autumn of 1895 and Cripple Creek in December 1895.
Regularly scheduled passenger trains stopped running in 1931 and just two special passenger trains ran in 1949 prior to the Midland line shutting down that year.
Read more about this topic: Midland Terminal Railway
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