Archives On The Air 128: Pikes Peak Rail—William Oliver Gibson Railroad Collection

By Wyoming Public Media

Published March 20, 2019 at 4:14 PM MDT

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Train at the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, altitude of 14,110 feet, photo by W.O. Gibson, July 1946. Box 1, William Oliver Gibson railroad collection.

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Train at the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, altitude of 14,110 feet, photo by W.O. Gibson, July 1946. Box 1, William Oliver Gibson railroad collection.

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General Electric House Kitchen special train sponsored by Warner Bros Studio. The entire train was covered with gold and silver. Photo by W.O. Gibson, July 1933. Box 1, William Oliver Gibson railroad collection.

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Great Western no. 90 Colorado, photo by W.O. Gibson, July 1960. Box 1, William Oliver Gibson railroad collection.

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Great Western no. 90 Colorado, photo by W.O. Gibson, July 1960. Box 1, William Oliver Gibson railroad collection.

The Manitou and Pike's Peak railway in Colorado has the highest elevation of any railway in North America. And the 5^th highest in the world. The tracks go over 14,000 feet.

The track was opened in 1889 by Zalmon G. Simmons, Inventor of Simmons Beautyrest Mattress Company. The track took tourists to the top of the peak and back.

The slope is a 16% incline. Special steam engines were built with slanted boilers to keep them level on the mountain.

The rail closed in 2018 for renovation. Operations are planned to resume in 2021.

William Oliver Gibson was a railroad enthusiast. His collection at UW's American Heritage Center includes photos, film, papers, and phonograph recordings of train horns.