restored in the 1980s to operate during summer months as a tourist railroad, carrying passengers using historic narrow gauge steam locomotives. Rebuilding In 1959, the centennial year of the discovery of gold in Georgetown, the Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park was formed by the Colorado Historical Society. The Colorado Historical Society's chairman negotiated a donation of mining claims and mills, and nearly of land. Interest in restoration of the Loop segment as a tourist attraction gained traction in the 1970s, and construction of new track along the old grade began in 1973 with track and ties donated by the Union Pacific Railroad. A new high bridge was also built to the same specifications as the original. Modern development had cut off the route to the old depot in downtown Georgetown, so the new track terminated just below the Loop at Devil's Gate (about 3/4 miles southwest of the city). The restored segment, opened on March 10, 1984, is at the upper end of the historic Colorado Central main line up Clear Creek Canyon west of Golden. The Georgetown Loop Railroad climbs approximately between the two towns using 3 miles of track. Passengers can board the train at depots located in Silver Plume and Devils Gate. The train ride includes an optional walking tour of the Lebanon Silver Mine, located at the halfway point on the railroad, where visitors can walk 500 feet (150 m) into a mine tunnel bored in the 1870s, with guides pointing out once-rich veins of silver and relating the history of the mine. Operational Troubles and Recovery The Loop operated continuously without major issues for 30 years from its rebuilding date until 2004, when contract negotiations between the Colorado Historical Society and the Loop's operator - Georgetown Loop Railroad, Inc. - broke down. GLR rejected the new contract demands and the CHS began seeking out new bids, eventually rewarding Railstar, Inc. with a 10-year management contract. GLR owned all of the original equipment being used on the Loop and moved it all to the Colorado Railroad Museum for storage, leaving Railstar to purchase new equipment to use since they didn't own any narrow-gauge rolling stock at the time they accepted the new contract. The Loop became plagued with problems after the Railstar takeover, including a lack of steam locomotives, derailments that resulted in Federal Railroad Administration investigation, and unreliable equipment that would often break