Highline

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Between Rockwood and Tacoma (M.P. 469 to 472) the railroad enters the San Juan National Forest and some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. This section of track is called the Highline by locals and it travels along a cliff nearly 400 feet above the Animas River. If you fear heights then you may need to keep your eyes closed along this part of the line. The High Line has appeared in several movies such as “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

Rockwood lies in a pretty little meadow west of the Animas River. In 1881 when the railroad was being built the site was a camp for construction workers consisting of tents and a few log cabins.

It is believed that Levi Carson first settled in the valley. This area was originally a staging area for the old toll road to Silverton before the railroad came. The toll road also went west to Rico. There were many small homes, stores, restaurants, saloons and a school in the valley. In 1876 a post office was opened. It was a popular site for locals to take a short holiday. They could come here and then take a short walk to the Animas River sites. Rockwood was also the terminus for a stage line that went west to Rico.

Once the railroad came to Rockwood in 1882, there was a depot, section house, bunkhouse, and coal house. This was a major Section Camp for the High Line crews.

Today there is a partial wye in the tracks. At one end of the wye you can find one of the last remaining “stub” switches in the United States.

Shortly after leaving Rockwood the train rounds a bend into one of the most photographed sections of track in the world. The tracks hang on a retaining wall and small ledge over the Animas River. This retaining wall can be seen in many historic photographs. It has been modified several times in the past. Some photos show a stone wall, others have wooden cribbing. Currently this wall is reinforced with a steel cage constructed from track rails and wire mesh

Here is the most spectacular section along the High Line. It may have been the most difficult portion of the railroad to construct. The red granite walls of the canyon are almost 400 feet above the Animas River at the track and another 100 from the track to the top of the cliff. The track rests on a shelf that was blasted into the cliff face. Drillers had to swing from ropes dangled over the cliff to drill and place the black powder charges.

A retaining wall holds a portion the shelf onto the cliff. The wall is a marvelous stone faced structure. that has been reinforced with vertical steel reinforcing rods tied back by buried cable anchors. The original anchors were drilled into the granite face and fastened to the rock by pouring molten lead in the anchor holes.

Crossing the Animas River requires a hefty structure and this iron truss bridge does it in spectacular fashion. It was erected in 1894 and is a testament to the skill of the railroad designers of the time. The structure is affectionately called the “High Bridge”.

The truss spans approximately 130 feet across the river. On the south end there is granite rock to support the abutment while on the north end a large gravely bank supports a concrete pier and a cute little wooden trestle. In 1981 the D&SNG had the truss strengthened to handle the big K-37 locomotives. This strengthening consisted of added a double member to the lighter tension units of the truss.

About two miles north of the High Line cliffs, the train tracks have moved to the bottom of the Animas River valley. At the confluence of the Animas with Crazy Woman Creek there is a small siding and passenger stop called Tacoma.

A small hydroelectric power plant at Tacoma was built in 1905 and is the oldest plant of its type in the U.S. The power comes from water drained out of Electra Lake which lies above the river valley to the west.