Moffat Tunnel

Moffat Tunnel
A diesel locomotive emerging from tunnel
The western entrance to the tunnel
Overview
LocationColorado, US
SystemUnion Pacific Railroad
CrossesContinental Divide
Operation
OpenedFebruary 1928
OwnerState of Colorado
OperatorUnion Pacific
Technical
Length6.2 miles (10.0 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Highest elevation9,239 feet (2,816 m) above sea level
Tunnel clearance24 feet (7.3 m)
Width18 feet (5.5 m)
Grade1 in 125 (0.8%)
Route map
New Route
Old Route
(after 1928)
 
Winter Park Resort
Forrest and Morgan Spurs
Moffat Tunnel
Ranch Creek Wye
elev. 9,239 ft (2,816 m)
 
rail tunnel
Rifle Sight Notch Tunnel
Tunnel 33
water tunnel
elev. 11,677 ft (3,559 m)
 
Needle's Eye Tunnel
Tunnel 32
Spruce Wye
Tunnel 31

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.[2]

  1. ^ "Moffat Tunnel". Douglass Colony. 2015.
  2. ^ Witcher, T.R. (October 2018). "Unanticipated Benefits: The Moffat Tunnel". Civil Engineering. American Society of Civil Engineers. p. 43.