| History | The Golden City & South Platte Railroad was created on January 18, 1872, with Charles C. Welch as president and E.L. Berthoud secretary. The line was charted to start at the Colorado Central rail yards, crossing Clear Creek on a low bridge proceeding south on what was once East Street, located now behind Safeway. It turned southwest just before the present day 13th Street and crossed over at a 45 degree angle to what is now Jackson Street through the cut that creates the corner of Jackson and Ford Streets in Golden. It went due south on present day Jackson as far as the Golden High School, where it again went southwest negotiating the terrain in a curving manner. It cut through Golden Cemetery and south past Morrison to Littleton, a distance of 17 miles.
Bonds were sold in January of 1873 and the line was believed to have been built as far as a local coal mine to supply the Colorado Central with fuel for its locomotives. The Crash of 1873 stopped construction at that point until 1879. Then most of the 17 miles was graded, but rail ran out at a clay pit at Hoyt's Ranch and a lime kiln nearby. Grade was completed in September 1879, but construction was halted in 1880 due to the right-of-way of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad cutting the Golden & South Platte Railroad off from Morrison. |
|---|
