Snapshots of the Past

Phantom Curve [on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Colo.] – Historic Reproduction

Phantom Curve [on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Colo.], [no date recorded on caption card] — historic image
Phantom Curve [on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Colo.], [no date recorded on caption card]. Historic image from the Denver collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

This historic image of Phantom Curve [on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Colo.] brings a moment of history to your wall. It comes from the collections of the Library of Congress, scanned from the original and carefully restored.

Framed, it is ready for the wall; unframed, it is ready for the frame you choose. Perfect for a home, office, library or classroom wall, and a gift with a story behind it. Free shipping in the lower 48 states. Snapshots of the Past has been bringing history to the wall since 2001, for tens of thousands of customers worldwide.

Phantom Curve [on Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Colo.]

Order a print

Secure checkout · SSL encryptedPowered by Stripe and PayPal

Free shipping in the lower 48 states. The checkout page shows the picture, size and price before you pay.

Sign up for our newsletter

Sent securely. No purchase needed. Unsubscribe anytime.

Ask about licensing or this print

Phantom Curve takes its name from a tight bend on the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in the Colorado mountains, where the track doubles back so sharply that a train can seem to vanish from view as it rounds the turn. The line was built in the 1870s and 1880s by William Jackson Palmer's company, which laid much of its track in narrow gauge to handle steep grades and sharp curves through canyons. Engineers used such loops, often called horseshoe curves, to gain elevation without exceeding the grades a locomotive could climb. The card for this print gives no date, so the exact year it was taken is unknown.

Created / published[no date recorded on caption card]
SubjectsThis record contains unverified, old data from caption card. Caption card tracings: Colorado--Views; Railroads--Companies...; Railroads--Rails...?--Horseshoe; Geogr.; Shelf.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,536 × 988 px · prints to 5 × 3 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-146350

More from the Denver collection

Snapshots of the Past helps heritage brands, museums, historians and storytellers tell stories with history: historic prints, image licensing and historical storytelling drawn from more than 25 years of research and curation.