Going west

[jbutcher3]

We are planning a trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming this summer , having never driving there was wondering about the mountain grades east of the Rockies. How steep, etc. not going any further west?
Thank you in advance for for any information.
Jim

[hankaye]

jbutcher3, Howdy;

We are planning a trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming this summer , having never driving there was wondering about the mountain grades east of the Rockies. How steep, etc. not going any further west?
Thank you in advance for for any information.
Jim

What is your intended route ???

There is not really anything to steep untill you get to Denver, Co. and that's South and a smidge West of where you intend to go.

hankaye

[campingcpl]

We are planning a trip to Cheyenne, Wyoming this summer , having never driving there was wondering about the mountain grades east of the Rockies. How steep, etc. not going any further west?
Thank you in advance for for any information.
Jim

You wont have to worry about step grades or any type of climbs. That drive is pretty flat and not much to look at, you'll just have to deal with the winds coming across the plains. The winds can be pretty strong on 80 in Nebraska. I drive that route going to see family that lives in Colorado.

[geo]

As Phil said - Drive 80! And when you do drive 80, you will be basically taking the same route as the first Transcontinental Railroad completed in 1869. The route was well mapped and known long before The Civil War and had the least amount of vertical relief of anywhere in the US at that time. (Pre-Gadston Purchase). Even the long slope down from Evanston, WY to Ogden, UT is not that bad. Lots of history along the way!

Ron

[hankaye]

geo, Howdy;

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0819976.html

When the Civil War broke out it disrupted the Southern Route and that's why the spike got driven at Promitory Point instead of Deming, N.M. (or somewhere in that neighborhood)...

hankaye

[geo]

geo, Howdy;

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0819976.html

When the Civil War broke out it disrupted the Southern Route and that's why the spike got driven at Promitory Point instead of Deming, N.M. (or somewhere in that neighborhood)...

hankaye

Hankaye -

You are quite correct, besides correcting my misspelling. It is Gadsden! However, as a visitor to the Gadsden Purchase area, you probably have realized that it's not the most "desirable" land for farming. There is a really great book out about building the TransCon rail, but it is quite a thick one! The actual surveying to propose and eventually build the rail started just east of Sacremento (finding a way through the Sierra Nevada). That route became even more important during the Gold Rush 1849. But nothing happened until after the Civil War. Then the "deal" made gave the competing rail companies (Union Pacific and Central Pacific) alternating 36 sq. mile (a township) tracks all along the route they built. Union Pacific got a LOT of desirable land in Nebraska, Iowa, etc.! And if you think corporate and government corruption is something new - the "deals and deeds" made during the building of the rail would match anything today! There was even a Congressional Hearing over it!

And, that is why traveling along I-80 is so interesting! It's a step back in time to observe the good, and bad, of the building of the rail! Most of the small towns along the way have local museums that are filled with memories of the Transcontinental Railroad construction. They are worthwhile museums to find! :thumbsup: Usually they are in the old Carnegie Library, the old Town Hall, or old Church. It's also along the basic route taken by Brigham Young and the Mormons to Utah.

Ron