[2][3] This allowed for passenger travel to and from Cripple Creek, shipment of equipment into the area, and the transport of ore to processing mills in Colorado City[2] beginning in 1895.

[4][2][b] It was the only standard gauge railroad into Cripple Creek and Victor, which made for easy transfer of material at the Divide junction with the Colorado Midland Railway.

[2] Eleven miles shorter distance than the Colorado Midland Railway, it was nicknamed the "Short Line" and offered freight and passenger service.

[4][c] Some of the old buildings at the Midland Terminal headquarters in Colorado Springs are in use today, notably the old roundhouse, which was purchased by Van Briggle Pottery in 1955,[7] and the machine shop, which is now the Ghost Town Museum.

[citation needed] Another segment is being converted to a multi-use trail connecting the Pikes Peak Greenway to Manitou Springs.