Old Rails New Trails

Old Rails New Trails. . , Up, up, up the Pass! , This popular walking and bike path follows a portion of the Monarch Spur, the railroad branch that crossed the Arkansas at the Salida railyards and stretched west to the mining camp of Maysville and up to the quarry below Monarch Pass. , The branch was steep, with two sets of switchbacks in its short length to maintain a 4.5% grade. When the Marshall Pass line was abandoned in 1955, the isolated narrow gauge segment of the Monarch Spur was converted to standard gauge. It survived until 1982, transporting dolomite and limestone from the Monarch Quarry to the Colorado Fuel and Iron blast furnaces in Pueblo. In 1982 CF&I shut down these furnaces and the need for this difficult branch and the commodities it supplied disappeared. By late 1984, the rails were removed. In 1994 a portion of the grade became the Monarch Spur Trail, part of Salida’s trail system. , The D&RG pressed northward from Salida and reached Leadville in August 1880. In September 1880, construction began west over Marshall Pass to Gunnison and a third route, the Chili Line, was built southward over Poncha Pass through Alamosa into New Mexico. Two years later a branch line to Maysville and the Monarch Mining District opened. , With Denver and Rio Grande rail lines heading in all directions, Salida became a strategic division point. Train crews changed here and services supported the entire D&RG Western Division. The D&RG built numerous structures on the north bank of the Arkansas River, including a depot, a roundhouse, a hotel, extensive yards and shop facilities. , As years passed and mining efforts petered out, railroad operations declined and the last lines suspended service in 1997. Although the D&RG buildings were demolished one by one, Salida has survived and flourished. , Tenderfoot Hill , Across the river at the end of F Street a sparsely-vegetated, cone-shaped hill rises above town. It's a landmark with many names: Mount Lookout, Tenderfoot Hill, S Mountain, and every December, Christmas Mountain. , It has been a town focus since the busy D&RG railyards were built at its base in 1880. The first Independence Day fireworks were launched from its summit ten years later. , Early foot trails were blazed by folks after a view of the city while they picnicked or waited to change trains. Others enjoyed racing to the top on foot. In 1909 F.M. Gleason made it to the top and back in 12 minutes flat, a record that is repeated and broken each summer by participants in the annual FIBArk hillclimb. , Don't want to walk? S Mountain's summit can also be reached via Spiral Drive, built by public-spirited Salidans. , The 1932 senior class of Salida High School left its mark on Tenderfoot Hill, placing and whitewashing rocks to form the mammoth "S" overlooking town. One of the largest city letters in the state, the "S" stands over 80 feet tall and 50 feet wide. , Today S Mountain is the center point of the Arkansas Hills Trail System, connecting new hiking and biking trails with downtown Salida. Trail maps are available online. , Tenderfoot Hill was once covered with the same piñon pines and shrubs as the surrounding hills. It is thought that the vegetation began to die when the smelter opened upwind in 1902. By the time the taller smokestack was finished in 1917 almost no piñons remained. , In 1990 volunteers outlined S Mountain with strands of lights in the shape of a Christmas tree. , [photo captions] , . Denver and Rio Grande Western Map of the Monarch Branch , . Monarch Townsite in 1884 , . The elegant Monte Cristo Hotel was opposite the original railroad station. Both are visible in an 1890s view from Tenderfoot Mountain. , . The F Street Bridge crosses over the 1941 Art Deco D&RG station that replaced the 19th century stone station. This town focal point was removed by the railroad in 1985. , . In an 1890s view, an earlier F Street bridge is visible, as well as the Monarch Spur Bridge to the right. , . Salida high schoolers picnicking at the “Crater”.