After all this suffering and travail, the Colorado Midland and the Busk Tunnel Company began to consider reconciliation. In May of 1899, the Midland approached the Busk Tunnel Railway Company about an outright purchase and on May 12, 1899 the deal was completed and on May 26, 1899 trains again began running through the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel. In the autumn of 1899, the dismantling train salvaged over ten miles of 60-pound rail, plus much usable timbers from snowsheds and trestles, finally closing the "high line" for good.
At the turn of the century, the United States was undergoing an era of great prosperity and was experiencing an unprecedented business expansion. The various railroad competed vigorously and sometimes bitterly with each other, but with ample business all could prosper. The Midland's through business showed a desirable increase concurrent with the traffic between the Nation's industrial heartland in the east and the mining, agricultural and lumbering areas of the west.
Ranching and stock raising had developed to the point where the Midland urgently needed more stock cars to carry this traffic and became favorably known by the ranchers as a "stockman's railroad." The coal business from the Glenwood Springs field was also stimulated by heightened industrial and domestic demands. Touring the West by rail was reaching its high point, and Midland passenger receipts increased.
The Colorado Midland seemed set for a long period of prosperity, its physical plant was in good shape and it is no surprise that neighboring railroad, primarily the Colorado & Southern and the Rio Grande Western, looked at the Midland as a possible takeover target. To avert a fight for control of the Midland a syndicate was formed between the Colorado & Southern and the Rio Grande Western to purchase the railroad. On July 2nd, 1900, control of the Colorado Midland was turned over to the C&S and RGW. The Colorado Midland Railway still retained its own identity and individuality; the principal change was simply that, instead of being owned by diverse eastern investors, the railroad was now firmly in the hands of two of its principal connections.
By December 1900, over $200,000 had been spent on new rolling stock, improvements to roadbed, and extensions and additions. Of note was the completion of the company program to convert all link and pin couplers to the Janney automatic appliances. The 24 miles of line between Basalt and Thomasville was realigned eliminating 30 to 40 sharp curves and compensating others. The advantages gained by the Midland came in the form of reduced fuel expenditures, faster upgrade train movement and decreased maintenance costs.
From the traffic standpoint, the most important betterment and extension of 1900 was the construction of the Leadville Mineral Belt Railway which increase the flow of ore traffic to Colorado Springs and then on to the Denver and Pueblo smelters.
In the autumn of 1900, negotiations began with the Denver & Rio Grande for control of the Rio Grande Western and by July, 1901, control of the RGW had passed to the D&RG. The Colorado Midland was now half-owned by its deadliest rival. Despite this fact, for the first few years of the 20th Century, the Midland continued to prosper.
Two factors seem to account for this continued prosperity. In the first place, the D&RG was not in good order at the time of the RGW purchase. The railroad had barely enough freight cars to handle its own business over mainline still laid with 65-pound rail utilizing engines purchase in the late 1880s. The second factor was the presidency of Frank Trumbull, one of the top railway administrators of all time. Under his direction the Midland obtained new traffic sources and made physical improvements which would permit more efficient and economical operation.
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