Georgetown Loop (Devil’s Gate)

The Devil's Gate depot sits at roughly 8,500 ft elevation where Clear Creek carves a narrow gorge through the Front Range. From the public overlook just south of the station, you stand nearly eye-level with the bridge deck as trains crawl onto the 300-ft-long, 95-ft-high trestle at walking speed — never more than about 10 mph. The narrow-gauge locomotives work hard on grades up to 4%, producing sustained chuffing and dramatic exhaust plumes, especially on cool mornings when steam lingers in the canyon air.

Typical consists run five to seven cars including open gondolas, covered coaches, and occasionally the VIP Waldorf or Tahoe parlor cars. Because the entire train fits on the bridge at once, you can photograph the full consist suspended over the gorge. Dwell time at each station runs about 15 minutes, giving you time to inspect the motive power up close and chat with the crew. The Clear Creek Greenway Trail connects Devil's Gate Station, the I-70 Georgetown Loop Overlook, and Silver Plume Depot on foot or by bicycle — making it possible to photograph the same train from multiple vantage points along the canyon.

A particularly good free vantage point is the Georgetown Loop Overlook rest area on eastbound I-70, just east of Silver Plume. From this elevated pull-off you can see the full loop alignment including the Big Fill earthworks and the High Bridge, without needing a train ticket.

The scene unfolds at 8,500 ft in a tight alpine canyon carved by Clear Creek, walled by slopes of Engelmann spruce, Douglas fir, and patches of aspen. The creek provides a constant rushing-water soundtrack that blends with steam exhaust and whistle echoes bouncing off granite walls. Summer afternoons are pleasantly cool (65–75°F) with intense high-altitude sun; afternoon thunderstorms can materialize rapidly. Autumn turns the canyon gold as aspens peak in late September — one of the most photographed stretches along the I-70 corridor. Early winter visits may find powder snow frosting the bridge trusses. The gorge funnels light winds that keep locomotive smoke moving, so visibility is rarely obscured for long.

Georgetown itself sits at 8,530 ft and is a well-preserved Victorian-era mining town with a population of about 1,200. The Devil's Gate Station is located about 3/4 mile southwest of downtown, accessed via Loop Drive off Argentine Street. The immediate area around the depot includes a gift shop, restrooms, a ticketing building (the Morrison Valley Center, dedicated 1985), and a parking lot.

All traffic is heritage passenger service operated by Historic Rail Adventures LLC under contract with History Colorado (formerly the Colorado Historical Society), which owns the 978-acre Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park. There is no freight or mainline traffic — this is a dedicated tourist operation on 3-ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge track.

The railroad rosters two operational steam locomotives: No. 40, a Baldwin 2-8-0 Consolidation built in 1920 for the International Railways of Central America (IRCA), and No. 111, another Baldwin 2-8-0 built in 1926, also for IRCA. Both worked in Central America hauling bananas and freight before being brought to Colorado. A third steamer, No. 12 — a Baldwin 2-6-2 Prairie originally built in 1928 for the Kahului Railroad in Hawaii — is currently in storage at Silver Plume awaiting overhaul. For shoulder-season and high-fire-risk days, diesel No. 1934, a rebuilt 1951 GE center-cab diesel-electric fitted with twin Cummins 855 engines, handles the duties.

During peak season (late May through August), trains depart both Devil's Gate and Silver Plume roughly every 75-85 minutes, producing 8-10 bridge crossings per day. Mid-ride, passengers may disembark at the Lebanon Silver Mine for a guided 500-ft walk into an 1870s tunnel.

The Devil's Gate High Bridge is the signature shot, and several vantage points serve different compositions:

Bridge Overlook (east of depot parking): A graded area provides a three-quarter view of trains entering the trestle. Morning sun backlights exhaust plumes; late-afternoon side lighting reveals the bridge's steel lattice detail. On clear days, peaks of the Continental Divide form the far background. A 70-200mm zoom covers most compositions from here.

Creek Level Trail: A short trail drops to Clear Creek's edge below the bridge, enabling dramatic low-angle shots of the locomotive towering overhead. Calmer pools along the creek offer reflection possibilities. Wide-angle (24-35mm) works best for emphasizing the bridge's height.

I-70 Georgetown Loop Overlook (free, no ticket needed): The eastbound I-70 rest area east of Silver Plume provides an elevated panorama where the full loop alignment — including the Big Fill earthworks and the bridge — is visible. This is also where you can trace the abandoned grade of the Argentine Central Railway zigzagging up the opposite slope. Telephoto in the 200-400mm range compresses the scene effectively.

From the train itself: Riding in an open gondola car offers unique perspectives crossing the bridge 95 ft above the creek. The right side (south-facing) provides the best canyon and creek views on the outbound journey to Silver Plume. A wide-angle lens (16-24mm) captures the curving trestle and canyon walls.

Best light: Morning for east-facing shots with steam backlit; golden hour for warm tones on the rust-colored rock faces and bridge ironwork.

The Georgetown Loop dates to Colorado's silver boom. The Colorado Central Railroad, a Union Pacific subsidiary, began building up Clear Creek Canyon from Golden in the 1870s. When chief engineer Robert Blickensderfer faced the challenge of connecting Georgetown and Silver Plume — two miles apart but separated by 640 ft of elevation — he realized a direct route would require an impossible 6% grade. His solution was a corkscrew alignment stretching 4.5 miles with horseshoe curves, a full loop, and four bridges across Clear Creek, holding the maximum grade to about 3.5%. The Georgetown, Breckenridge & Leadville Railway (formed 1881 under UP) completed the loop in 1884, crowned by the 300-ft-long, 95-ft-high Devil's Gate High Bridge.

The line became one of Colorado's first tourist attractions — visitors paid $3 to "do the loop" on what newspapers called "that famous knot in a railroad." Between 1906 and 1918, the loop connected with the Argentine Central Railway at Silver Plume, which carried tourists to the summit of Mount McClellan. The Colorado & Southern Railway took over operations in 1893 and ran trains until 1938. The line was dismantled in 1939, with the High Bridge infamously scrapped for just $450.

The story of I-70 intersects with the loop's legacy: the interstate was blasted out of a mountainside rather than routed through the Clear Creek Valley, partly to preserve the remains of the engineering marvel. In 1959, the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park was formed. Track reconstruction began in 1973 with rails and ties donated by Union Pacific. The rebuilt High Bridge was dedicated on August 1, 1984 — exactly 100 years after the original — after a $2 million reconstruction funded partly by a grant from the Boettcher Foundation. Governor Richard Lamm presided over the ceremony.

The Georgetown Loop is the only operating railroad in North America that completes a full 360-degree loop in the open air to gain elevation. While spiral tunnels exist elsewhere, the Georgetown Loop achieves its corkscrew entirely above ground, making the engineering visible from multiple angles — a rarity that draws both railfans and engineering enthusiasts.

The combination of narrow gauge (3 ft), steep adhesion grades (up to 4%), and a signature high bridge creates a multisensory experience unlike mainline hotspots. Trains move slowly enough to observe mechanical details: you can hear individual exhaust beats, watch the drivers turning, and smell coal and oil smoke mixing with mountain pine. The looping alignment means you can observe the same train from multiple elevations within minutes on foot via the Greenway Trail — something rarely possible at other locations without driving.

The railroad's motive power roster carries its own exotic history: both operational steam locomotives (#40 and #111) were built by Baldwin for Central American banana railroads before finding second careers in the Colorado Rockies. The contrast between these tropical-origin machines working hard in thin mountain air at 8,500-9,000 ft adds a layer of historical interest unique to this operation.