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 



the high mountains near Marshall Pass and which 

 Grand Junction. is followed throughout most of its course by the 

 Elevation 4,583 feet, narrow-gage line from Salida to Montrose and by 

 SC^somne's. 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 well as forage crops, sugar beets, garden truck, 

 and fruit. It is 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 185. 



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 south west ward, 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 



