The Grande had a chequered corporate history, but finally achieved respectability and profitability during World War 2.  It became an important bridge route in the transcontinental system, as well as a feeder system for coal.

A crucial aspect of Rio Grande history was its joint receivership with, and eventual merger with, the Denver & Salt Lake Railroad (The "Moffat Road").   This "short line to nowhere" traveled directly west from Denver, penetrated the Front Range via South Boulder Canyon, and passed under the Continental Divide via the Moffat Tunnel-- a 6.2-mile engineering wonder completed in 1927.  When a connection was built in 1934 between the D&SL and the Rio Grande's main line at Dotsero, a direct transcontinental standard-gauge rail line west of Denver became a reality.

Facing a changed competitive landscape in the 1980s, Rio Grande's owners acquired the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1988 and merged the lines-- a process that required several years to implement.  And right when the system had begun to gel and to turn a profit, the new Southern Pacific Lines was sold to Union Pacific (1996).  Now, all Rio Grande lines are part of UP (except for parts that have been spun off to shortline operators).  The D&RGW is gone, but certainly not forgotten.

My model railroad is based on the Moffat Road's line between Denver and Winter Park, during the last decades of Rio Grande (and Southern Pacific) ownership.

Enjoy this tour of the layout, and check back for updates.  The section crews are still busy with construction!

(Incidentally, the name "La Plata Division" has nothing whatsoever to do with the area being modeled, and everything to do with the actual location of the model railroad...)