Oct. 23, 1902. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



677 



to the ordinary railroad ends. The T rails .serve merely to 

 puide the train and bear its weight. It i.s the rack rails in 

 , the middle of the track upon which the propulsion and 

 safety of the train depends. The rack raiLs are double 

 every inch of the way from the valley to the summit. They 

 are made from superior Hes.semer steel, and are of extra 

 heavy weif,'ht on the steeper fjrades. 



The locomotives are an e.xciting' novelty to any one 

 with an interest in machinery. These powerful mountain 

 climbers are constructed with the utmost nicety of detail. 

 There are five of them in the road's equipment, all of the 

 four-cylinder Vauclain type, weiffhing' about 30 tons each. 

 Two double cog wheels underneath the locomotives engage 

 the toothed rack rails. The locomotives are provided with 

 brake power in abundance -hand-brakes, steam-brakes, 

 water-brakes, and automatic brakes. 



The coaches are observation cars. Each seats SO pas- 

 sengers. They precede the locomotives on the ascent - 

 which is an advantage in the matter of observation — and 

 follow them on the descent, thus being always protected 

 by the latter., The two, however, are never coupled to- 

 gether, and the coaches are provided with powerful indi- 

 vidual brakes that operate through cogs on the rack rail. 

 By this arrangement the coach can be stopped instantly 

 and independently of the locomotive. 



Through scenes of ever-changing beauty, the Half- 

 Way House, which is far from half way to the summit, is 

 reached. It is a rustic mountain hotel surrounded by a 



Fhantoin Curve 07i the iVay Up. 



grove of stately pines, and, towering above it, the pinnacled 

 rocks of Hell Gate, through whose portals the train passes on. 



There are six stations on the line, besides the termi- 

 nals, and three water tanks — for the engine is a thirsty 

 monster. At one of these may be strikingly seen the ap- 

 parent phenomenon of water flowing uphill in an open 

 trough. Another illusion that excites comment is in the 

 grade. Every ipch of the road is up; yet, when approach- 

 ing a moderate from a steeper grade, any one would declare 

 that the track ahead was a down grade. 



Quaint beauties, grotesque shapes and strange illusions 

 fairly crowd the way. The conductor shows them all. 

 Among the surprises is a printing-olflce perched on the 

 mountain side. Here a souvenir daily paper is issued with 

 the news of Pike's Peak — the names of its visitors, illustra- 

 tions, descriptions, etc. 



The climbing is unceasing. Ere long the scene ex- 

 pands. The verdured hills shrink back and leave the big, 

 bleak peak a towering monument. The trees desert the 

 landscape, and groups of stunted aspens shiver in the 

 breeze. Grand vistas open everywhere. A sense of awe 

 transcends that of delight. 



The scenes of near-by interest now are gone. Rocks, 

 gaunt and jagged, only line the way. The train now gains 

 in elevation rapidly. The air grows chill ; windows must 

 be shut and outer wrappings donned. Away below — itself 

 high in the hills — is spread out like a mirror the crystal, 

 placid Lake Moraine, about whose shores tradition weaves 



some thrilling legendary tales. Thick, billowy cloudH -unless 

 the day lie strictly fair — tloat far below. In the early sea- 

 son snow is everywhere, and forms some strange effects. 

 The opening of the road in the spring involves cutting 

 through enormous depths of snow and ice. The locomotive 

 labors sturdily and heroically on ; and presently, and quite 

 unexpectedly, the train halts on the Summit, and Colorado 

 is spread below. 



And that magnificent, sweeping view 1 How futile is 

 description ! Here is sublimity ; here is immensity incredi- 

 ble I There, to the west, stand a thousand towering peaks 

 in spotless white — majestic, beautiful awful! (Jn the east 

 a mighty ocean of plain, superb and placid, stretches in- 

 finite. The eye is strained, the senses dazed, in grasping 

 the proportions of that stupendous sea. And the sun shines 

 golden on its glimmering sands, while purple shadows 

 wander here and there beneath the shifting clouds. 



Aroused at last from awesome contemplation, there are 

 interests of the summit that must not be overlooked. Upon 

 the top of the new Summit Hotel is a steel tower, and here 

 is on duty a powerful telescope through which the gorgeous 

 landscape may be studied in detail. Eighty miles away to 

 the north Denver can be recognized by the telescopic aid ; 

 to the south, Pueblo (the Pittsburg of the West) crowned by 

 the smoke-clouds of its furnace fires; to the west, Cripple 

 Creek, Victor, Goldfield, Independence, and the dozen lesser 

 towns of the busy Cripple Creek gold-mining district. 

 Manitou peeps out from its nest at the eastern base of the 

 mountain ; and, beyond, Colorado Springs lies like a vast 

 checker-board on the border of the plain. Colorado Springs 

 is 16 miles distant, as a bird would fly ; yet so near does the 

 telescope bring it to the observer, that signs on the stores 

 may be read. 



The top on the peak comprises several level acres thickly 

 strewn with big rocks that are principally in cubes and other 

 rectangular shapes. One might easily imagine it to be the 

 scene of some Titanic building project — the materials all 

 assembled but construction abandoned. 



The Bottomless Pit and the Abyss of Desolation are 

 great shuddering rents in the mountain, into which the sun 

 never finds its way, and where tlie snows of centuries lie in 

 unconjectured depths. 



The Summit Hotel is a very substantial, commodious 

 and comfortable building, and it furnishes entertainment 

 for the many pilgrims that remain over night to view the 

 glories of the sunrise. Sunrise excursions, which are 

 run weekly in the latter part of the summer, have also be- 

 come very popular, sometimes the entire eqilipment being 

 required to handle the crowds. 



Within the hotel building is a Western Union office, the 

 highest telegraph station in the world : also a lunch-room 

 and souvenir store. 



The locomotive blows a warning note ; a photograph is 

 made of the passengers grouped about the train ; the time 

 is up ; the conductor says his say. 



And then they come down. 



Yes, we all came down again, after the most wonderful 

 railroad ride we ever took. We shall never forget it. And 

 yet we would not care to repeat it. Once is enough. The 

 next time (if there should ever be a next time) we hope to 

 walk up. Many go up that way. But it must be a great 

 climb ! 



Why Not Help a Little — both your neighbor bee-keep- 

 ers and the old American Bee Journal — by sending to us the 

 names and addresses of such as j-ou may know do not now 

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 and subscribe for it, thus putting themselves in the line of 

 success with bees. Perhaps you can get them to subscribe, 

 send in their dollars, and secure for your trouble some of 

 the premiums we are constantly offering as rewards for 



such effort. 



* • » • 



" The Hum of the Bees in the Apple-Tree Bloom " is 

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 sending us one new yearly subscription to the American 

 Bee Journal at SI. 00. 



