Moffat Tunnel: The Railroad Denver Built to Escape the Mountains

David Moffat spent his entire personal fortune trying to bore a railroad tunnel under the Continental Divide in Colorado. He died broke in 1911, sixteen years before the tunnel opened. The Moffat Tunnel opened in 1928 and has been in continuous operation ever since — carrying freight, the Amtrak California Zephyr, and roughly a quarter of Denver's municipal water supply through 6.2 miles of granite under the Continental Divide. LOCATIONS FROM THIS VIDEO: West portal — Winter Park area, Grand County, CO: 39.9001° N, 105.8225° W East portal — Rollinsville, CO, Gilpin County: 39.9225° N, 105.5448° W Rollins Pass summit — former railroad summit, summer auto road: 39.9384° N, 105.7088° W Moffat Water Tunnel intake — Blue River at Dillon Reservoir, Summit County, CO: 39.6309° N, 106.0434° W