The rest went home empty handed and the Pikes Peak region gained a poor reputation as a potential gold area.

During 1894 a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line, known as the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad was built at a cost of $500,000.

The Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad extended forty miles (64 km) and reached the district from the Arkansas River to the south in 1894.

One train carried parlor cars and sleepers and offered champagne dinners on overnight excursions from Denver.

A signboard posted on Gold Camp Road near one of the three remaining tunnels that are still used on the road, (#1, #2 and #9), reads as follows: The Midland Terminal Railway, (which wound its way from Colorado Springs to Cripple creek by way of Divide) dominated the shipment of freight and Ore, forcing the CS&CCD out of business by 1920.

Corley, a Colorado Springs coal mine owner and cattle breeder, bought the bankrupt RR for $370,000.

This breath-taking mountain highway became a popular tourist attraction and Corley made $400 per day from the $1 per car toll that he charged.

Short Line to Cripple Creek Author: Tivis E Wilkins Publisher: Golden, Colo. : Colorado Railroad Museum, ©1983.