Travel Advice

So you want to do something different on your Colorado vacation but you aren’t sure what it should be. Try the Georgetown Loop Railroad and the tour of the Lebanon Mine. This narrow gauge rail was completed in 1884. Because of the difficulty building something that would work in the mountains and cross the canyons the narrow gauge track was chosen.

To connect the mining towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume, which are only 2 miles apart, the railroad’s builders designed a “corkscrew” route that traveled twice the distance and gained more than 600 feet in elevation. It included horseshoe curves, grades of up to 4%, and four bridges across Clear Creek, including the massive Devil’s Gate High Bridge. The Colorado & Southern Railway operated the line for passengers and freight from 1899 to 1938, when it was abandoned.

In 1973 the Colorado Historical Society began the restoration process and began operating the train for tourists. Along the route visitors may stop for a guided tour of the historic Lebanon Silver Mine, and view wildlife in its natural habitat. The train park includes an 1884 depot, two 1860s mines, an 1871 mill building, four reconstructed mine buildings, a locomotive maintenance building, the 1874 Pohle House, and a new rolling stock shelter.

You will be able to take a walking tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine which is located at the halfway point on the railroad. You will go 500 feet into a mine tunnel bored in the 1870’s where the temperature is a constant 44 degrees F so be sure to bring a jacket. Oh, and you will be wearing a hard hat! Not only do the kids like that but the adults do too.

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