Moffat Tunnel
Under the radar, the upcoming shit storm is brewing. Colorado owns the Moffat Tunnel. When it was built, a 99 year lease, at $12,000 a year, was signed by the Denver & Salt Lake Pacific RR. That railroad was later acquired by the Denver & Rio Grande. Later the Union Pacific acquired the D&RG. The lease is up January 2025 and players everywhere are licking their chops. An example.
Lost in the noise is the Union Pacific. They own the rail right of way to and from the tunnel. In the past, they have demonstrated a willingness to shut down a line. Prime example is the line from Canyon City via Tennessee Pass to Minturn. They own enough tracks in Wyoming and Utah to move the freight now going through the tunnel. Anyone who knows the history of the UP knows every decision is bottom line based.
Circa 1953, our father was the section foreman responsible for the tunnel. Sisty, while born in Denver, lived there at the East Portal along with our parents and me. The place has a large place in my heart.
Before the tunnel, the railroad ran over Rollins Pass. In my youth I spent a lot of time on that old road and fishing the high mountain lakes around it.
Pussyfooting about a pussy cat
The encounter does not qualify as a mountain
lion attack because the man was never touched by the lion, CPW said
The man in question might not agree.
