The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado.
Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel’s first official railroad traffic passed through in February 1928.
The Moffat Tunnel finally provided Denver with a western link through the Continental Divide, as both Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the north and Pueblo to the south already enjoyed rail access to the West Coast.
It follows the right-of-way laid out by Moffat in 1902 while he was seeking a better and shorter route from Denver to Salt Lake City.
The Moffat Tunnel averages 15 trains per day.
The railroad and water tunnels parallel one another; the water tunnel delivers a portion of Denver’s water supply.
In 1979, the tunnel was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
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