Herb Ringer’s American West: ALPINE TUNNEL, COLORADO

Herb Ringer was an avid devotee of Rail History. He maintained a vast library of books on the topic, particularly on the rail lines of the Rocky Mountains. In the 60s and 70s he traveled regularly to the important sites of the historic railroads, and studied and made notes on what remained.

One of his favorite abandoned spots in rail history was the Alpine Tunnel in Colorado. He made the difficult drive at least a half dozen times and captured photos of the abandoned rail complex that had been the first to cross the Continental Divide. Alpine Tunnel was both the highest rail tunnel and longest narrow-gauge rail tunnel in the United States.

First, the drive…

Atop the Palisades west of Alpine Tunnel in the '65 Ford Falcon Van. Photo by Herb Ringer — **Atop the Palisades west of Alpine Tunnel in the ’65 Ford Falcon Van. Photo by Herb Ringer**

Above Sherrod Loop, an early mining town. The site produced plenty of gold and ore, but its horrid winters had chased out its last inhabitants by 1906. 1978. Photo by Herb Ringer — **Above Sherrod Loop, an early mining town. The site produced plenty of gold and ore, but its horrid winters had chased out its last inhabitants by 1906. Photo by Herb Ringer in 1978.**

In the Palisades near Hancock Ghost town east of the defunct rail tunnel. 1975. Photo by Herb Ringer — **In the Palisades, 1975. Photo by Herb Ringer**

And then the abandoned rail complex…

"Harry at Alpine Tunnel." Not certain whether Harry was a friend, or just another traveler Herb encountered at this remote ghost of a gold rush settlement. Harry is standing in the old telegraph office, constructed in 1883 for the then-bustling spot at the west portal to the tunnel. 1977. Photo by Herb Ringer — “Harry at Alpine Tunnel.” We aren’t certain whether Harry was a friend, or just another traveler Herb encountered at the remote settlement. Harry is standing in the old telegraph office, constructed in 1883 for the then-bustling spot at the west portal to the tunnel. 1977. Photo by Herb Ringer

**The abandoned DSP&P rail lines west of Hancock Ghost Town. 1969. Photo by Herb Ringer**

A telegraph pole that once served the settlement, nearly two miles above sea level. At the mouth of the narrow gauge railroad tunnel was a telegraph office and a station platform, both of which fell into disrepair after the tunnel was abandoned in 1910. Photo by Herb Ringer in 1980

**A Jeep party lunching at Alpine Station in 1966. Photo by Herb Ringer**

**Timber debris from a 600 ft snow shed that once stood at the West Portal to the tunnel. 1966. Photo by Herb Ringer**

**Remains of a 2-story boardinghouse that once stood near the station. 1966. Photo by Herb Ringer**

**Alpine Station. 1966. Photo by Herb Ringer**

HERB RINGER came West from his home in New Jersey in 1939. Camera in hand,
Herb captured the American West, from the Canadian Border to the Rio Grande and
from the Big Sur coast to the High Plains.
We believe Herb’s collection of Life in the West is one of the finest. His work has been
published in The Zephyr for 20 years. I am pleased finally, to offer Herb’s photographs
in color. We are also building a new ‘album’ of his work, elsewhere on this site.
My dear friend died on December 11, 1998…JS

For the Most Comprehensive Collection of Herb Ringer Photographs Online, Click Here to see the Herb Ringer Issue of the Zephyr.

And Follow Our Digital Archive of Herb’s Photos Daily on Facebook.com/ZephyrAmerica.

To comment, scroll to the bottom of the page.

Don’t forget the Zephyr ads! All links are hot!

Join the Backbone Here

Zephyr Policy: REAL NAMES ONLY on Comments!

3 comments for “Herb Ringer’s American West: ALPINE TUNNEL, COLORADO”

Stephen Verchinski

October 25, 2021 at 11:56 am

Sore No More is the best. Moonflower has it in stock.

Evan Cantor

November 22, 2021 at 12:49 pm

awesome photos! We were hiking that “trail” last summer, up from the Hancock “ghost town”. There ain’t much at Hancock and you can no longer drive up the tunnel “road”. Be forewarned, the dirt road between St. Elmo and Hancock is in very poor shape. What enables it to be something more than a 4-wheel drive trail is the fact that it isn’t very steep, following the same railroad grade as the “trail” to the Alpine Tunnel.

LeighAnn Hunt

November 23, 2021 at 9:28 am

In 2009 the Gunnison National Forest put up some good interpretive info at the Alpine Tunnel, and a group of volunteers spent the last 20 years stabilizing the standing ruins and features there. You can see the top of the western portal of the tunnel but you can’t see into it at all. I helped design that project.
However, an avalanche 3 years ago closed the access on the railroad grade approaching from the west above the town of Pitkin, and the FS has not yet had the funds to repair it. You can hike in. It is worth seeing. When constructed it was the highest railroad tunnel (narrow Guage) in the world…