Trails, Roads, & Rails
"It has been said of Mr. Mears that though he had no training in engineering, he had a natural gift for road building. Going to the top of a divide he determined where he could lay out his road. Also, he built his toll roads, and later his railroads, not from a swivel chair in a city office; he was on the scene of construction from the start, and stayed there most of the time until the finish. Mr. Mears employed capable engineers, yet really bossed the job himself. Between 1867 & 1886 he constructed numerous wagon roads in the Southwestern mountains, some of these exceedingly difficult and expensive."
                                - Helen M. Searcy 1927
                                           Historian & Author
1895 Silverton Railroad Co. Pass
1901 Silverton Railroad Co. and Silverton Northern Railroad Co. Pass
Rio Grande Southern Railroad
Incorporated in 1889 by Mears & other investors, the Rio Grande Southern Railroad encompassed almost 163 miles of main line track plus several short branch lines. The line was surveyed and constructed from both the Northern terminus at Ridgway and the Southern terminus at Durango. In December 1891 the tracks met between Dolores and Rico.
Ores and concentrates from the Telluride, Ophir and Rico mining districts constituted must of the tonnage hauled on the Rio Grande Southern, but coal, lumber and livestock also accounted for a good deal of freight. The 1893 silver crash forced the Southern into receivership, and it was kept operational by the D&RG because of its importance as a feeder line. The end came in 1953 when scrappers removed the last rails from the line.