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Climbing Soldier Summit (elevation 7477 feet) is a daunting task for both Route 6 and for the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad, a major passenger and freight route between Denver and Salt Lake City. (May 2001 photo)
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This May 2000 photo, looking down the
south side of Soldier's Summit, shows the old Route 6 in the right
foreground, the current Route 6 in the middle, and the Denver & Rio
Grande Western Railroad on the left. A major transportation corridor it
was and still is.
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Early twentieth century postcard folder cover.
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Route 6 closely follows the route of the old Denver, Rio Grande & Western Railroad from Thistle, Utah, to east of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It crosses Soldier's Summit in Utah and glides through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado. This was the route taken by the California Zephyr in the 1950s and 1960s, operated by three railroads, the Western Pacific west of Salt Lake City, the DRG&W, and the Burlington (CB&Q) east of Denver. Since 1983, a train of the same name has been operated by Amtrak on the DRG&W route. The above 1930 map shows the eastern part of the DRG&W main line connecting to Pueblo. After 1934, the line took a short cut to Denver through the Moffat Tunnel, allowing a direct connection to the Burlington Route running eastward to Chicago. |