The Colorado Midland Railway was one of Colorado’s major early standard-gauge mountain railroads.
It was built west from Colorado Springs toward Leadville and the Western Slope during the 1880s.
Unlike many competing Colorado mountain railroads, the Midland used standard gauge from the beginning.
The route crossed the Continental Divide through difficult high-elevation terrain.
The original alignment used Hagerman Pass and the Hagerman Tunnel at very high elevation.
A later route through the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel reduced some of the operational difficulty and grade exposure.
The railroad served mining districts and connected with western Colorado communities and other railroads.
Financial instability, competition, and changing traffic patterns repeatedly affected the company.
The Colorado Midland ceased operations in the early twentieth century and much of the route was abandoned.
For TransitSatellite, the line should be compared directly with narrow-gauge rivals: standard gauge simplified interchange but made mountain construction more demanding and expensive.