Physical description: Rocco Lotito took this photo during a trip to the Old Moffat Tunnel. Inscription: “old moffat tunnel 9-2-40 ” Note: PCCLI1565, 1619, 1620 and 1621 are all related images.
This photograph is a digital scan of an original photograph lent for copying during the Italians of Colorado project. The original photograph is not owned by History Colorado. The digital scan was donated with permissions (see permissions in Registrar's file) and accessioned into the History Colorado collection.
Project description:
In 2002, the Colorado Historical Society (now known as History Colorado) founded the Colorado Italian American Preservation Association (CIAPA). A volunteer organization, CIAPA’s mission is to work collaboratively with the Society and other organizations to develop, support and coordinate projects that preserve, promote and celebrate Italian American culture and heritage. Since 2002, CIAPA has carried out its mission by meeting with people from the Colorado Italian American community, recording their stories and creating an archive of research materials that includes oral histories, photographs, moving images, sound recordings and artifacts. To date, CIAPA has helped the Society acquire over 200 oral histories, 600 artifacts and nearly 6,000 photographs. Since 2002, CIAPA has developed over 4,000 research files, all of which document the history, culture and traditions of Italian American families in Colorado.
Notes:
See MSS.02595 Larry Lotito and Lucille Lotito Pesce files for additional information and images.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Location Colorado, USA
System Union Pacific Railroad
Crosses Continental Divide
Operation
Opened February 1928
Owner State of Colorado
Operator Union Pacific
Technical
Length 6.2 miles (10.0 km)
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Highest elevation 9,239 feet (2,816 m) above sea level
Tunnel clearance 24 feet (7.3 m)
Width 18 feet (5.5 m)
Grade 1 in 125 (0.8%)
elev. 9,239 ft (2,816 m)
Continental Divide
elev. 11,677 ft (3,559 m)
The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first official railroad traffic passed through in February 1928.
The Moffat Tunnel finally provided Denver with a western link through the Continental Divide, as both Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the north and Pueblo to the south already enjoyed rail access to the West Coast. It follows the right-of-way laid out by Moffat in 1902 while he was seeking a better and shorter route from Denver to Salt Lake City. The Moffat Tunnel averages 15 trains per day.[1] The railroad and water tunnels parallel one another; the water tunnel delivers a portion of Denver's water supply. In 1979, the tunnel was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.