Iron Rails: From Bust to Rust

The route, maintained by Summit County, begins 10 miles northeast of Fairplay at the junction of Highway 285 and Park County Road #33 and traces the former bed of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad. The U.S. Forest Service created an interpretive auto tour placing 12 numbered signposts along the road that highlight the railway and mining history of the region.

The route crosses through National Forest lands and private property, so please respect the rights of private landowners. Some of the historic mining sites may contain mine shafts and other dangerous mine workings, most of which are on private land. Visitors should exercise caution when leaving their vehicles.

The tour has not been officially designated as a state scenic byway.

Railroad History

In 1859 the passageway over Breckenridge Pass (now known as Boreas Pass) was hardly more than a trail used by burro pack trains and foot travelers to carry supplies across the Continental Divide. In 1860, crews of men from the Breckenridge and South Park sides of the pass hacked out a wagon road. Twenty years would pass before the next improvements to the route.

In 1873, the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad began construction of a route to the mineral belt areas in South Park. It was a narrow gauge track (3 feet between the rails rather than the standard gauge of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches) because of the rugged countryside, sharp curves and steep grades along the route. Construction through the Kenosha Pass area occurred in 1879. Later that year, the tracks reached Como, 88 miles from Denver.

The Leadville silver boom posed challenges and opportunities for railroad magnates. Competition to serve the area and share in its riches soared. The Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad headed for the action in 1880 across the rubble of old placer strikes on Tarryall Creek. Rail reached the summit of Boreas Pass in late 1881. Winters were harsh, and few places harsher than the Pass renamed for the God of the North Wind. By September, 1882, the line reached Breckenridge, and by December, 1884, tracks ran into Leadville. Fire accompanied the railroad's progress through the mountains. Sparks from locomotives caused major forest fires in 1883, 1893, 1899. The legacy of those spark-belching, iron horse days paints the Pass today. Aspen trees thrive on disturbance. Fires opened the flanks of these mountains to the seedlings and subsequent stump sprouting clusters of aspen. The flattened leaf stem of this tree cause the canopy to tremble in the slightest breeze, hence its common name "quaking aspen". In autumn, the presence of gold again animates these mountains, not as nuggets or flecks, but as the flutter and fall of aspen leaves.

1937 was the last year the railroad over Boreas Pass was operational and not long after in 1952 Boreas railroad bed converted to an auto road on the Breckenridge side followed by the Como side in 1956.

Recreation

In the summer the gravel road can be driven by regular low clearance 2WD passenger cars. In the fall it offers a prime opportunity for leaf peeping. The road closes to automobiles in winter, usually by November 1st and becomes popular cross-country skiing, snow shoeing and hiking trail out of Breckenridge.