This line was originally graded and constructed in the early 1900s as competition to the Union Pacific.  Judging by the railroad's name, the original plan was to build all the way from Denver to Laramie or Cheyenne in Wyoming. The DL&NW paralled UP's main line from Denver northward, although the DL&NW was on the west side of the South Platte River, and the UP was on the east side.  Heading north from Denver the DL&NW passed through Welby, Henderson, Wattenberg, Ady, Traceyville, Vollmar, Wulfekuhler, Moore, Hodgson, Fort St. Vrains, Letford, Milliken, Ana, Elm, and Greeley. The DL&NW crossed several branches of the UP along its route.  The UP already had a large share of the local business, and the DL&NW was abandoned between Denver and Wattenberg less than ten years after it was built.  The line segment north of Wattenberg was purchased by the Great Western, but it too was abandoned by 1950.