This was the last private intercity passenger train in the United States until Brightline began service in Florida in 2018. Known for its independence, the D&RGW operated the Rio Grande Zephyr until its discontinuation in 1983. At its height, in 1889, the D&RGW had the largest narrow-gauge railroad network in North America with 1,861 miles (2,995 km) of track interconnecting the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The D&RGW operated the highest mainline rail line in the United States, over the 10,240 feet (3,120 m) Tennessee Pass in Colorado, and the famed routes through the Moffat Tunnel and the Royal Gorge. The Rio Grande was the epitome of mountain railroading, with a motto of Through the Rockies, not around them and later Main line through the Rockies, both referring to the Rocky Mountains. The Rio Grande was also a major origin of coal and mineral traffic. It served mainly as a transcontinental bridge line between Denver, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The railroad started as a 3 ft ( 914 mm) narrow-gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado, in 1870. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad ( reporting mark DRGW), often shortened to Rio Grande, D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company.
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