Boulder Valley Railway

Historical Society

Home
Up
Facilities
Sugar Mill
Locomotives
Diesels
Windsor to Eaton
Stock Certificates

The Great Western Railway

The Great Western Railway was built between 1901 and 1906 to haul sugar beets from the fields to the factories of the Great Western Sugar Company. The railroad served this purpose until 1977, when trucks took over hauling the beets for the remaining 7 years of Great Western Sugar's existence. The railroad survived by developing other customers on its line and remains in use today.

The GW reached Longmont in 1906, the railroad has only a few miles of track in Boulder County, from an interchange with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe east to the county line. Only the quarter mile or so between the interchange and the GW's Longmont yards sees any regular use.

 
Map of Great Western Railway A 1961 map of the Great Western Railway. AS of 2002, all of the track remains in place though the line between Windsor and Eaton is out of service, as is the line west of Johnstown to Welty.
Great Western Caboose 01004 in 1952 Great Western caboose 01004 was shot in Longmont in August of 1952. Its origin unknown, the caboose was acquired by the Great Western in 1917, and scrapped in the mid 1950's.

Further Reading about the Great Western Railway

  • Sugar Tramp by Gary Morgan. 1975, Centennial Publications Ft. Collins CO.
  • Railroads of Northern Colorado by Kenneth Jessen. 1982, Pruett Publishing, Boulder CO.
  • Sugar Country Shortline by Wesley Fox. 1989, Fox Publications Lakewood CO.
Copyright © 2011 BCRHS