The Moffat Tunnel

The East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel in Gilpin County, Colo. on Aug. 3, 2011. (Jake Miille Photography/Flickr)

The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel in Colorado. The Moffat Tunnel passes through the Continental Divide in the north-central region of Colorado. Although the Moffat Tunnel Commission finished its construction in 1928, the Moffat Tunnel remains in use today as part of the Union Pacific Railroad. The American Society of Civil Engineers recognizes the Moffat Tunnel as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, with its construction representing a significant civil engineering accomplishment in Colorado.

David Moffat, American industrialist and Colorado railroad pioneer, in 1898. (Rose & Hopkins/Denver Public Library)

David Moffat, an American industrialist and Colorado railroad pioneer, is the man behind the Moffat Tunnel. Moffat was born in Washingtonville, N.Y. in 1839. In 1860, Moffat moved to Denver. By 1870, the First National Bank of Denver hired Moffat to be the bank manager, and due to his success in running the bank, the First National Bank of Denver promoted Moffat to the bank president. Moffat was also the president of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and he co-owned nine railroads. Moffat became wealthy from his ventures in banking and railroad transportation.

Map of the Moffat Road. (Mark Baldwin/Gilpin Tram)
Map of the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel, showing the elevation increase. (Jeff Goertzen/The Denver Post)

Moffat first conceptualized the Moffat Tunnel as a route from Denver to Salt Lake City, in hopes of making travel more accessible. In 1902, Moffat established the Denver, Northwestern and Pacific Railway, and he began the construction of a railroad, which came to be referred to as the Moffat Road. The railroad reached Rollinsville, Colo. in 1904. However, Rollins Pass, with its high elevation and inclement weather, created additional challenges and difficulties. Costs and the estimated construction time of the Moffat Road increased as the project continued, and funding eventually ran dry. Moffat returned to New York City in hopes of raising money for the construction of the Moffat Road, but he remained unable to finance the project.

Video about the Moffat Road published on Oct. 25, 2016. (Colorado Preservation, Inc.)

On March 18, 1911, Moffat passed away in New York City, with his death being attributed to heart failure. The Moffat Road had not yet made it to Craig, Colo. at the time of Moffat’s death. Although the Moffat Road was temporary, it remained in operation from 1904 until 1928. After Moffat’s passing, financing for the Moffat Tunnel ceased, though the original vision for the railroad persevered.

Headline from the United Labor Bulletin on May 15, 1913. (Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection)

The Moffat Tunnel Commission advocated for the construction of the Moffat Tunnel, trying to make progress through the Colorado State Legislature. On May 15, 1913, the United Labor Bulletin printed an article encouraging voting in favor of a proposed amendment that would allow Colorado voters to vote on the construction of the Moffat Tunnel. The United Labor Bulletin stated that the Moffat Tunnel would “place Denver on a through line to the Pacific coast,” benefitting the city with money from tourism.

Headline from The Paonia Newspaper on March 31, 1911. (Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection)

However, the fight for the construction of the Moffat Tunnel continued from the 1910s up until the 1920s. While newspapers often advocated in favor of the construction of the Moffat Tunnel, there was pushback from others. As early as March 31, 1911, The Paonia Newspaper urged readers to oppose the proposed Moffat Tunnel. On Oct. 29, 1920, the Elbert County Tribune and Elbert County Banner published an article encouraging readers to vote against the Moffat Tunnel, claiming that the construction of the Moffat Tunnel would “handicap the progress of Colorado” if the state were to finance it.

Headline from The Oak Creek Times on June 16, 1923. (Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection)

Finally, in 1922, more than a decade after Moffat’s death, the Colorado State Legislature authorized the construction of the Moffat Tunnel, with the Colorado Senate voting to provide funding and provisions. On April 29, 1922, the State of Colorado created the Moffat Tunnel Improvement District to manage the construction of the Moffat Tunnel. On May 12, 1922, Governor Oliver Shoup appointed commissioners to proceed with organizing the construction of the Moffat Tunnel. In June 1923, the U.S. Supreme Court validated the Colorado State Legislature’s Act, so the construction of the Moffat Tunnel could commence.

The Oak Creek Times, a historical newspaper in Colorado, described the forthcoming construction of the Moffat Tunnel as “the biggest industrial enterprise” to be “undertaken in the West.” The State of Colorado supplied bonds of $6.72 million for the project. Construction of the Moffat Tunnel would then begin. The Denver Gas and Electric Company and the Western Light and Power Company were consolidated to form the Public Service Company of Colorado, and a 44 kilowatt line was established to provide power for the construction of the Moffat Tunnel.

The East Portal Camp Cabins in Gilpin County, Colo. on Aug. 2, 2021. (Emma Jones)
One of the East Portal Camp Cabins in Gilpin County, Colo. on March 19, 2022. (Emma Jones)

In 1922 and 1923, prior to when the construction of the Moffat Tunnel began, the East Portal Camp Cabins were built. Contractors F. C. Hitchcock and C. C. Tinkler believed that providing workers with accommodations would encourage high morale and work ethic. Hitchcock and Tinkler hired Clifford A. Betts, who became the office engineer of the Moffat Tunnel Commission. Betts organized the construction of what would later become known as the East Portal Camp Cabins at the Moffat Tunnel.

The Contractors’ Story of the Moffat Tunnel,” written by Hitchcock and Tinkler in 1927, notes that “climatic conditions in the Rocky Mountains” were “not ideal,” and “the length of the job demanded first-class camps and entertainment features for the men and their families.” As a result, Betts arranged the construction of the company town to host the workers and their families, though the workers themselves also chose to build and run their own cottages and facilities.

The interior of one of the cottages at the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel on Aug. 17, 2021. (Emma Jones)
The exterior of one of the cottages at the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel on Oct. 4, 2021. (Emma Jones)

The only remnants of this company town, where the men who worked on the Moffat Tunnel lived, are the East Portal Camp Cabins. These cabins are located at the East Portal Trailhead of the Moffat Tunnel near the James Peak Wilderness. The USDA Forest Service owns the land, but the Union Pacific possesses the buildings. The Gilpin County Historical Preservation Commission has inquired about acquiring the cabins for rehabilitation purposes to preserve their historical value.

In addition to the East Portal Camp Cabins, there was a hospital and a post office located at each portal of the Moffat Tunnel. “The Contractors’ Story of the Moffat Tunnel” notes that there was also “an athletic club, dance committees, entertainment committees, all run by the men,” and teachers in schoolhouses to provide educational services for the workers and their families. Hitchcock and Tinkler remarked that “life was pleasant.”

The Moffat Tunnel attributes its construction to American labor, with men coming from the Colorado Western Slope to work on the project. “The Contractors’ Story of the Moffat Tunnel” states that the men working on the construction of the Moffat Tunnel found the labor to be worth the pay, with the average wage being $5.15 per eight-hour day. During the 1920s, other laborer jobs within all industries typically paid an average of around 40 cents per hour, amounting to wages of $3.20 per eight-hour day.

The construction of the Moffat Tunnel began on Sept. 20, 1923, with a deadline of 46 months. By Aug. 21, 1925, William P. Robinson, the president of the Moffat Tunnel Commission, regarded the Moffat Tunnel as being 56% complete. However, the construction of the Moffat Tunnel was not without causalities. Over the period of roughly six years, during which the Moffat Tunnel was being built, 28 men lost their lives.

The West Portal of the Moffat Tunnel in Winter Park, Colo. in 1928. (Wikimedia Commons)

In June 1925, an explosion killed one man and injured four others at the West Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. According to The Jefferson County Republican, a newspaper based in Golden, Colo., the explosion occurred when the men unknowingly drilled into “a piece of dynamite that had not been fired.” The blast instantly killed Gage W. Beegle, a Colorado School of Mines student who was working on the Moffat Tunnel. Local hospitals treated the injuries of the other men, who all survived the incident.

On July 30, 1926, a cave-in buried five men 12,000 feet inside the West Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. The Daily Times, a newspaper based in Longmont, Colo., reported on the catastrophe. Betts stated that the cave-in “resulted when a big rock, which the workmen thought to be securely braced, gave way and fell upon a set of supports.” This cave-in was found to have killed six men.

On Feb. 16, 1927, a man was electrocuted at the East Portal of the Moffat Tunnel. The Craig Courier, a newspaper based in Craig, Colo., stated that King F. Weston electrocuted himself while establishing “contact between a motor and a switch.” The collapse of the motor injured another worker, E. J. Shepard, crushing his leg. Weston was the 27th man to die while working on the Moffat Tunnel.

The interior of the Moffat Tunnel on Dec. 17, 1927. (Wikimedia Commons)

On Feb. 18, 1928, the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad received the Moffat Tunnel after a regulation freight train successfully passed through days earlier on Feb. 16, 1928. On Feb. 23, 1928, the Moffat Tunnel Commission announced the completion of the Moffat Tunnel. The Steamboat Pilot reported that the first passenger train would then pass through the Moffat Tunnel on Feb. 26, 1928, heading through the western portal before returning through the eastern portal.

The Moffat Tunnel Commission completed the construction of the Moffat Tunnel in just under six years, with Moffat having established the original concept 26 years earlier. The railroad and the water tunnel run parallel to one another, with the Union Pacific Railroad continuing to use the Moffat Tunnel in the current day as a means of transporting coal and freight. The Moffat Tunnel, costing $18 million obtained from bonds and concessions, reduced the trip from Denver to Salt Lake City by 173 miles. Today, the Moffat Tunnel represents an important engineering feat achieved by the men who worked to make the railroad and water tunnel a reality.

The Moffat Tunnel Survey

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