Beginning in 1909, an “incline railway,” or funicular, carried tourists to the top of Mt. Morrison to enjoy the views, said to be among the most spectacular in the Front Range. John Brisben Walker conceived this coup, the first such attraction in the Denver metropolitan area. Within a few years, two more funiculars were built in Golden: one to the top of Castle Rock on South Table Mountain, and another to the top of Lookout Mountain.
Walker’s was the first and, if we are to believe his promotional material, the best. Unfortunately, he reckoned without the new popularity of the automobile, which gave people the freedom to travel where they wished and enjoy the views they encountered. Visitors to the park today can still see the scar on Mt. Morrison left by the tracks of the incline railway, which were hauled away as scrap metal in the late 1920s.
Go to part 2: A Ride to the top of Mt. Morrison
Construction of the Mt. Morrison Funicular
from newspaper accounts in the Jefferson County Graphic:
“Manley Sawyer and Tom Matthews are engaged in hauling rails to the Mt. Morrison Incline railroad this week” “Over 25 men are now employed on the Mt. Morrison Incline railroad and the work is being rapidly pushed toward completion. About 1000 feet of the road grade is complete, ready for the rails and ties, and a few feet of tracks has already been laid. The roadbed for the remainder of the distance is partially graded. One cannot imagine the enormity of such an undertaking without viewing the scene of operations and it is well worth your while to take a walk over the steep incline, which is to become one of Colorado’s greatest achievements in railroad engineering.”
“A 125 horse power boiler and an engine of the same capacity are now on the ground, ready to be placed for the Mt. Morrison Incline railroad.”
“The last of the machinery for the Mt. Morrison Incline Railway arrived last week…. Not until the road is completed will people understand the enormity of the undertaking, or the great importance of the new attraction to Morrison.”
Red Rocks History 
Is there a place to obtain online pictures of the funicular at Red Rocks?
There are a couple of articles on funiculars in Jefferson County in Historically Jeffco, which is online and can be downloaded at https://historicjeffco.wordpress.com/publications/jchc-magazine/historically-jeffco-online/ One was in the 2006 issue, the other was more recent, but it’s not turning up for me. I may have some in brochures and such; can you tell me what you need them for and I could try to dig something out. You might also contact Beth Simmons, the author of the 2006 article. I’ll see if I can put you in touch.
Well, I’ve figured out where the old rail bed of the Mount Morrison funicular railroad is located. Now I’d like to ride my mountain bike up the road from Idledale to Mount Morrison. Does anyone know if that is a public road? If it’s private, who owns the land. I know Jeff Bradley if his family owns the land and may be able to get permission to ride it from him.
Dick Plastino
I found some brochures from about 1910 for Mount Morrison and the new road leading up to the rail. It was 75 cents for a ride to the top and back. I would like to get an exact date before I sell them.