The entrance to a family home at Ironton.

Copper Glen became known as Ironton because of the low grade iron found and the rust color of the area. One of the unique features of the area was the turntable that was built to support the trains going to and from the mines. They even covered the turntable with a sloped roof to allow the snow to slide off for year round operations.  If the switch and turntable was left without a cover, It would be buried in snow most of the year and slowed down the schedule while digging it out.  A covered turntable solved this.  The turntable was at the end of a switchback. It allowed the engine to be turned to keep the engine facing forward so they didn’t need to backup for most of the route. 

Ironton suffered the same fate as many other Colorado mining towns when the silver market crashed. In the 1960’s the last remaining resident of Ironton, the mayor, Milton Larson passed away and the town officially became a ghost town. 

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