Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek Railroad Bed
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Gold Camp Auto Road (Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek Railroad Bed)
1901, 1922. Between Colorado Springs and Cripple Creek
The last of three railroads to reach the mining district is a notable piece of civil engineering. Shunning the stream bed construction of many other narrow-gauge mountain railroads, it built along mountain-sides and canyon walls, requiring much cut-and-fill work. It snaked over the south slope of Pikes Peak and through the town of Cameron to reach Cripple Creek and Victor. President Theodore Roosevelt, after taking the trip, is said to have declared, “This is the ride that bankrupts the English language!” W. D. Corley bought the railroad bed in 1922 and turned it into the Gold Camp Road for motorists, who still thrill at its hairpin curves and dizzy dropoffs.
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