Intro
Faster travel!!! How could there possibly be faster travel than a horse and a wagon? Railroads have been around since 600 BC. They once were called a rutway! But, what, when, and where exactly...
What is a Railroad?
A railroad is two steel rails with a train running along them. Now, people use buses, cars, and planes to get around because it’s faster. But, back about 140 years ago, trains were the fastest thing in Colorado! People used them for travel, shipping, and having fun. They also attracted tourists and made money.
When Was the First Railroad Built?
Let’s talk about history. The first known railroad was made in ancient Roman and Greek times; about 600 BC. But, they weren't called railroads back then. They were called rutways. But, we are talking about Colorado not Greece. Something amazing happened in 1870. The first railroad that ran on two steel rails ran through Colorado. In 1869 the first railroad in Colorado was in the making. Progress was fast. By June twenty-sixth 1870 the first train rolled into Colorado. It was named the Colorado Central Railroad.
The Moffat Tunnel
In 1927 one man came up to the government and said “It is so hard to get from eastern Colorado to western Colorado. Why don’t we build a tunnel?” The governor (who at the time was David H. Moffat) thought about this. He knew that making a tunnel would mean blasting through tons of rock, but even though he knew this would take very long he agreed. So workers started blasting away though the hard mountain. Sadly though, David died before his tunnel was complete. The first train went through in 1969.
Expanding
After the first railroad was up and running on June twenty-sixth 1870 people were fanatic about it. They traveled on railroads all the time! But, there was a problem. There was only one small track leading through Colorado; the Colorado Central Railroad. People could only get to Golden and Denver. People were fine with this though. Then BOOM the Colorado Gold Rush happened. They needed some way to ship the gold down from the mountains. So they started making the railroad go over the mountains. That caused the travelers to beg for more places to go. So, the railroad company decided to connect the new railroad (the one that went over the mountains) named the Transcontinental Railroad. They connected that railroad with the Colorado Central Railroad making the railroad go over the mountains. That caused the railroads to get more travelers.
Faster travel!!! How could there possibly be faster travel than a horse and a wagon? Railroads have been around since 600 BC. They once were called a rutway! But, what, when, and where exactly...
What is a Railroad?
A railroad is two steel rails with a train running along them. Now, people use buses, cars, and planes to get around because it’s faster. But, back about 140 years ago, trains were the fastest thing in Colorado! People used them for travel, shipping, and having fun. They also attracted tourists and made money.
When Was the First Railroad Built?
Let’s talk about history. The first known railroad was made in ancient Roman and Greek times; about 600 BC. But, they weren't called railroads back then. They were called rutways. But, we are talking about Colorado not Greece. Something amazing happened in 1870. The first railroad that ran on two steel rails ran through Colorado. In 1869 the first railroad in Colorado was in the making. Progress was fast. By June twenty-sixth 1870 the first train rolled into Colorado. It was named the Colorado Central Railroad.
The Moffat Tunnel
In 1927 one man came up to the government and said “It is so hard to get from eastern Colorado to western Colorado. Why don’t we build a tunnel?” The governor (who at the time was David H. Moffat) thought about this. He knew that making a tunnel would mean blasting through tons of rock, but even though he knew this would take very long he agreed. So workers started blasting away though the hard mountain. Sadly though, David died before his tunnel was complete. The first train went through in 1969.
Expanding
After the first railroad was up and running on June twenty-sixth 1870 people were fanatic about it. They traveled on railroads all the time! But, there was a problem. There was only one small track leading through Colorado; the Colorado Central Railroad. People could only get to Golden and Denver. People were fine with this though. Then BOOM the Colorado Gold Rush happened. They needed some way to ship the gold down from the mountains. So they started making the railroad go over the mountains. That caused the travelers to beg for more places to go. So, the railroad company decided to connect the new railroad (the one that went over the mountains) named the Transcontinental Railroad. They connected that railroad with the Colorado Central Railroad making the railroad go over the mountains. That caused the railroads to get more travelers.