Loading ...The Moffat tunnel under the continental divide is 6.2 miles long. When diesel locomotives run thru, you can imagine how thick the smoke gets inside. There is no tunnel door at the west portal, at Winter Park. The tunnel door is only at the east portal as shown in the pix. What you never see are the massive turbine air blowers on either side of the east tunnel… behind the portal and door. When the door closes, these turbines suck massive quantities of air thru the tunnel from the west end and exhaust it sideways behind the east portal. The door closes the east portal to keep intake-air from leaking in that side.
This tunnel is the major rail crossing route across the divide, and handles a lot of rail traffic. With the ventilation system working, they can clear the tunnel air in a short time to allow the next train through without suffocating the crew.