THE ALMIGHTY SO

Moffat Tunnel

This image was made from the dome car while riding on the Rio Grande Zephyr. As stated in the previous post, this wonderful train ran between Denver and Salt Lake City. I was headed westward on my ride, and so this is the eastern portal of the famous tunnel.

This 6.2 mile bore, which pierces the continental divide, was built by the Denver & Salt Lake Railway between 1923 and 1927. The first train went through the tunnel in February of 1928. The Denver, Rio Grande & Western took over the line in 1931.

Prior to the building of the tunnel, the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway (DN&P) crawled over the mountain using switchbacks, loops, and very steep grades (4%). David Moffat, on the board of the railway, conceived of the tunnel to eliminate all of that—but would not live to see it built.