In 1883, investors created the Colorado Midland Railroad and built track from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista. In 1885 the CMR began tunneling under Hagerman Pass, on to Aspen Junction and then to Aspen and Grand Junction, creating the first great transportation route linking east and west Colorado. Built to serve the growing mining industry, the railroad shipped ore, coal, equipment, supplies, and men far better than horse-drawn wagons and also enabled farmers and ranchers to ship agricultural products efficiently. The triangle of land here was the original Wye, a triangular junction of three tracks that formed the nexus of Aspen Junction's lifeblood and prosperity, where CMR trains could be turned around, fueled, and repaired before continuing up the Frying Pan, under Hagerman Pass, and on to Leadville, or down the Roaring Fork to Glenwood, or up the Roaring Fork to Aspen. The boom times of Aspen Junction, later Basalt, began in 1886, but by 1893 the silver market had crashed, mining essentially ceased, trains were used less frequently, and by 1919 the Colorado Midland ceased operations. In 1921 the railroad tracks were removed from the Wye and all the way up the Frying Pan River, and the current Frying Pan Road was built on the railroad right of way, creating automobile access to Leadville, after which Basalt entered quieter years.