Audio Excerpt

Do you hear that? That’s the Georgetown Loop Railroad! You can jump on this OG tourist attraction - they’ve been pulling in visitors since the 1880s -  at one of two locations just a few kilometers East of here. Silver Plume is the closest, and because it’s a loop, you’ll hit both stops and ultimately end up where you started. They really thought of everything!

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The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a live-action history lesson. Get ready to hear about the natural resources and visitors trains once carried to this area. Plus, you’ll gain insight into the runnin’ and gunnin’ outlaw lifestyle of miners when this part of the railroad was completed in 1884.

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This stretch of the tracks was dismantled in 1938 but the Colorado Historical Society started restoration work in 1973. The goal was, and still is, to entertain and educate. Let’s hit the classroom now for some warm-up learning!

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The Georgetown Loop Railroad is an example of a three-foot, narrow gauge railroad. That means three feet is the perpendicular distance between the inner rails. Can you guess how far apart the rails are on a broad gauge railroad?

 

Is it A-six feet, B-five feet, or C-four feet? 

 

If you said B-five feet, you have a future as a conductor! 

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