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Floresta
![[Floresta]](images/florest1.jpg) The coal mining camp of Floresta cared not about silver nor gold: the demand for coal to drive the stream engines that drove the locomotives that drove the Colorado mining industry was good enough. Floresta, near Crested Butte, never caught up with demand until the mining boom finally ended in the 1930's. In fact, at one time, two different railroads were competing to get to Floresta first. The Denver and Rio Grande won, while the Denver South Park and Pacific was just a couple of miles from finishing. The bottom photo on the More About Floresta page shows the long-ago abandoned Denver and Rio Grande line running toward Floresta, still covered with spilled coal. |