Denver & Rio Grande Western

Denver & Rio Grande Western [Southern Pacific]
Colorado (Tennessee Pass Tunnel)
June 6, 1996




The Tennessee Pass Tunnel in use in 1996 was actually the second, opened in 1945. Traces of the original 1889-1890 tunnel are visible at right. When abandoned, both portals of the old tunnel were buried with dirt, but over time traces of the old tunnel have reappeared. In 2012 part of the old bore collapsed, causing a sinkhole in U.S. Route 24 that crossed the tunnel overhead.




This page posted 1/1/2019. Text and photo ©2019 Lamont Downs.