158 GUIDEBOOK OF THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. 
The railroad traverses the flat land of the river bottom to the point 
where Colorado River is joined by Gunnison River, which heads in 
he high mountains near Marshall Pass and which 
Grand Junction. ig followed throughout most of its course by the 
Elevation 4,583 feet. narrow-gage line from Salida to Montrose and by 
een i, the standard-gage line from Montrose to Grand 
Junction, At the junction of these roads stands 
Grand Junction, a division point on the railroad and the largest 
town in western Colorado. Grand Junction is the center of a vast 
irrigated district whose climate is favorable to the growth of almost 
all kinds of grain, as wel] as forage crops, sugar beets, garden truck, 
and fruit. Itis particularly noted for its beet-sugar industry and for 
its fruit. 
The description of the country along the main line west of Grand 
Junction is continued on page 
NARROW-GAGE LINE FROM SALIDA TO MONTROSE. 
The description of the country along the main line east of Salida 
ends on page 90. - 
The part of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad that 
runs over Marshall Pass was a part of the main line built with a 
3-foot gage in 1881, and because of its steep climb over the moun- 
tains and its tortuous course through the Black Canyon of the Gun- 
nison it has not been changed from its original gage. To the 
traveler who has never ridden in a narrow-gage coach the name 
“baby railroad,” which was given to this system in the early days, 
seems eminently proper; but after traveling over the mountains and 
turning and twisting through the narrow canyons he gains respect 
for the narrow-gage road, which in this part of the country was the 
pioneer of railroads and led to the development of the mineral re- 
sources and the agricultural wealth much earlier than if the road 
had been built standard gage. In Colorado, however, the day of 
the narrow-gage road seems to have nearly passed, and all such lines 
will probably be abandoned or changed to standard gage. 
The country about Salida is well watered, and much hay and grain 
is grown for the herds of cattle that may be seen from the train. 
Some fruit is raised, but the altitude here is so great that only the 
more hardy varieties will ripen. On leaving the station the rail- 
road runs southwestward, directly toward the great mountain wall 
that bounds the valley. (See sheet 3, p. 100.) It ascends the valley of 
South Arkansas River, in which no rock can be seen in place 
except at a distance until the train enters the mountains. The im- 
mediate valley is excavated in gravel and boulders, which may be > 
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