Powered by gravity. On the run from Silver Plume to Georgetown, the Loop's Locomotive #111 doesn't use much water or fuel. Almost the entire 4.5 mile trip is downhill, and with the grade averaging about 3%, gravity does most of the work. The locomotives typically run tender/tank-first with the train on the uphill side....primarily for safety. Here, we see the 10:45 AM departure out of Silver Plume, making its way back across the Devil's Gate Trestle just minutes from Georgetown's Devil's Gate Station. A railroad visitor and his young son capture the moment with the ubiquitous cell phone, as they stand next to Colorado's monument to the engineering involved in the original Georgetown Loop. From here, the train will loop around behind my camera position, making about a 270 degree turn, before it ends up at the station, which is perhaps 300 yards off to my right.
