1979 C&S News (2) - Como Field Trip, Loop gets a Shay

A wealth of railfan history exists in the archives of the Rocky Mountain Rail Report, the newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club started in 1939.  Here is some more miscellaneous South Park Line/C&S-related news from the 1979 editions.   

1979

September

(The club goes on a "Como Field Trip" over Boreas Pass with Ed Haley who grew up riding the line)

Fall flowers in Como, 2022

THE BOREAS PASS - COMO FIELD TRIP on August 18, provided an opportunity to explore a portion of the old DSP&P right-of-way, learn a bit of Colorado rail history, and take in some great scenery all at the same time. 

The group started on the grade in Breckenridge as planned, making occasional stops enroute over the pass at various points of interest. Ed Haley's commentary at each stop helped us visualize what the rail and mining operations were like on the pass years ago. 

Lunch at Baker's Tank was quite pleasant, and the summit of Boreas Pass was another highlight. Although it was the middle of August, Mother Nature was already trying her hand at snowmaking, fresh traces of which could be seen on some mountaintops. 

Ominous looking clouds in the distance were present throughout the day, but they held off until arrival in Como. Then it was like standing under the spout of a giant water tank. The deluge prevented planned tours of the Como yards while half the group ate dinner in the Como Eating House, unfortunately, but shelter was available in the old schoolhouse. 

The Como Hotel and Eating House Oct. 2022

When everyone completed supper, Ed Haley gave a memorable program on riding the Denver-Breckenridge passenger train. It was a good feeling to see the Como Hotel and Eating House back in business after all these years. Although only in business for a short time, and not really set up for a "group attack" like the one the club dropped on the new proprietors after an already busy day, Keith Hodges and his wife left the same good impression with us that they have been with individual diners. 

If your travels take you through Como at either breakfast, lunch or suppertime, consider stopping in and trying out the "Como Depot Restaurant. " Their prime rib seems to be developing a  reputation all by itself.

(The Sundown and Southern's depot burns to the ground)

Remains of the DSP&P coach No. 3

THE OLD FT. LUPTON DEPOT that had been moved to a planned narrow gauge rail operation east of that town several years ago, tragically burned to the ground this summer, when a weed fire got too close to the structure. (Ed. This was at Don Drawer's planned-tourist railroad destination named The Sundown & Southern. A few South Park pieces made it to the property including refrigerator car 1113 and a coach body-DSP&P coach No. 3 "The Geneva." While moving a Union Pacific depot via trailer to the property, it got stuck in sand and remained on the spot for six months. Later, after the depot finally arrived, Drawer was burning weeds around the building when it caught fire, completely destroying the structure. With no fire hydrants at the remote location, nothing could be done)

Sundown & Southern

October

(Shay No. 8 arrives at the Georgetown Loop)

EX-WEST SIDE SHAY NO. 8 moved to Silver Plume from Gales Creek, Oregon, last fall, passed required inspections, and began operating on the Georgetown loop in September. After several days of test runs, it was assigned to the passenger train, and has performed quite well. Last day of operations on the loop for this year will be on September 30. 

(Ed. The December 1978 Rocky Mountain Rail Report stated: "COLORADO AND THE GEORGETOWN, BRECKENRIDGE & LEADVILLE RAILWAY gained another steam locomotive recently, with the arrival of ex-West Side Lumber Company's 3-foot gauge Shay Locomotive No. 8 at Silver Plume on October 12. The locomotive was trucked all the way from Banks, Oregon, and presented some challenging problems during the move, Parts had to be removed to get it down to a truck-able load, and it took several weeks to make the journey (and a truck with 11 axles and 66 tires!!). It is hoped to have it operational on the Georgetown Loop by the middle of next summer.") 

Shay 8 on display in 2004 - Nathan D. Hale photo

Following the C&S Ry. from Alpine to Glencliff-video

Bottom: west. Top: east

Following the path of C&S eastbound train No. 93, the video below travels from Alpine (later known as Fisher) to Glencliff (formerly known as Cascades). After the train would have left Alpine Tunnel it would travel through Hancock, Romley, St. Elmo, and then Fisher. You can see a video of the St. Elmo to Fisher leg here.

The video ends at the point that today's present road (built on the old South Park roadbed) diverges from the right-of-way at Glencliff. You can see the "Y" separation at the top of the screenshot above. The railroad is the yellow line.

Below is the 1918 C&S Valuation map of Glencliff showing the 630-foot siding the side opposite of Chalk Creek. While the line from Hancock through Alpine Tunnel to Quartz was abandoned in 1910, the segment from St. Elmo east (including the portion in this video) to Buena Vista remained intact until 1924.

I haven't found any railroad-era photos along this stretch. Instead, I've included quotes about the area from M.C. Poor and an 1896 visitor. In addition, Google Earth overlays help to see the geography of the the area the railroad traversed. A few 1800s photos of trains on the shelf right-of-way just beyond the divergence of the road round out the end of the video.

Oscar Perschbacher's adventures on the C&S

Conductor Oscar Perschbacher had the sad honor of giving the final C&S narrow gauge train order to the engineer of No. 76 in Leadville. 

Boarding house Oscar helped build (behind the station)

Perschbacher had a long career with the C&S. While he later served as a brakeman and eventually a
conductor,  he began as a carpenter repairing bridges. He later moved to work at Alpine Tunnel around 1906. There he helped repair the tunnel and construct the two-story boarding house after fire had destroyed the facilities there.

A testimony to Perschbacher and his fellow crewmen's work: the boarding house stood for roughly 50 years after abandonment before its collapse sometime in the 1960s.

Remains of the boarding house today

Working in Alpine Tunnel

Inside Alpine Tunnel 1948 - Ed Haley photo from the Feb. 1991 Rocky Mountain Rail Report

Not long after his arrival at Alpine, a crew of men including Oscar went to work repairing some tunnel timbers. Oscar and some others perched themselves on scaffolding to insert the keyblock at the top of one of the arches. Nearby, others dug out rock or dirt debris (possibly from the ceiling work being done). It seems the scaffolding had been perched on or around some of this debris so that the digging inadvertently caused the scaffold to collapse. As he fell, Oscar saw the ceiling collapse as well. This came down on top of Oscar and the other workmen. He recalls the fear that the torches (kerosene torches drilled into the timbers) would go out and plunge them all into darkness. 

Thankfully, others dug them out. Oscar credits 'Tuck' Simpson's help in getting dug out.

Train Consists on Alpine and Boreas Passes

Eastbound train leaving Pitkin (H.L. Curtiss Photo)

Oscar remarked that trains running over both Alpine and Boreas Pass had four engines. Two led up front while two pushed from the rear, just in front of the caboose. Due to the ice in winter on these lines, it was hard to get a stopped train moving again without at least four locomotives.

Ignoring the Rules for Georgetown Loop

The Loop High Bridge today

Procedures were different on the Clear Creek division of the C&S. One time Oscar and some other trainmen from the South Park division were called over to the Clear Creek Line during tourist season. He recalls being conductor on a train “racing” a doubleheader over the Georgetown Loop’s high bridge. He didn't know that the railroad had concerns about how much weight could be put on the bridge. Someone in the coach asked if he knew that they were supposed to take one engine over the bridge and then bring the rest of the train with the second engine. Oscar simply replied “No. I don’t, but it’s too late now!”

Speeding Through the South Park

Relaid track in the South Park today

Speaking of speed, Oscar marveled at the speed of the fast freights from Denver to Leadville. As a brakeman he rode on top with his brake club in hand and enjoyed what he called a “wild ride.” Sometimes that speed came to trouble, particularly in the South Park at night. It was hard to see what was on the tracks and a few times his trains hit cattle. 

Dips in the track due to a slight washout were another issue. The daring engineers, whom Oscar called “hogheads,” seemed to fire through them at speed to get over the inverted humps. He commented, “They killed a lot of good men that way.”

The adventures on the C&S never cease to amaze a flatlander like me!

Source:

The stories above were gleaned from an article in the Summer 1974 Slim Gauge News entitled "Recollections with Oscar" by Elwood Bell

C&S 1113 photos (1959)

While researching the history of C&S refrigerator car 1113/RGS 2101, I came upon a number of photos taken by Ralph Hawkins' father John C. Hawkins and Ralph's mother Lucille Hawkins. Ralph graciously shared his photos with me. Visit HawkinsRails.net for more of his and his father's work.

The photos below were taken June 1959 at Ridgway, Colorado.  You will also see a Rio Grande Southern coach and RGS caboose 0400. The caboose was used in the 1969 movie True Grit and later acquired by Jerry Albers. He owned it from 1973 to roughly 1990. The story of his acquisition and restoration of the caboose can be found here.

John C. Hawkins above

C&S 1113 in 2023 and 1959

C&S Refrigerator Car 1113 History: C&Sng at the CRRM

Back in September of 2023 my family had the chance to visit the Colorado Railroad Museum. Since I hadn't been to the museum since my teens (in the 1990s), this was my first visit with the only known C&S narrow gauge refrigerator car in existence (It was acquired by CRRM in 2002). One side and end is painted for the C&S where the car began its life while the other side and end is painted for the Rio Grande Southern where it spent the second part of its revenue life.

The video I made below tells the main pieces of the car's history.

(There is one error in my video. Don Drawer did not buy 1113. The D&RGW gave it to him as they wanted it "out of the way.")

For a more full story of the CRRM C&Sng equipment, see my series The Railroad Riches of Golden.

You can find 1113's specific story here.

Visit Sherrod Loop today - video

 Sherrod Loop was the reverse curve that helped the South Park Line climb up to the over-11,000-foot-high Alpine Tunnel. Eastbound, the curve was the gateway to the more famous spots on the line including the Palisades, Split Rock, numerous other rock walls, and the Alpine Tunnel enginehouse. This video highlights the route from Woodstock to Sherrod as it exists today.

Sherrod Loop is at the far right. Alpine Tunnel is reached via top track alignment at left.

Historical sign at Sherrod

Relaid track (presumably laid by the Forest Service). View: eastbound

View: eastbound

View: westbound

View: westbound

View: westbound

View: eastbound, past relaid track

View: eastbound

A short bit upgrade, eastbound, is this telling sign

Would you like to buy the Town of Sherrod?

 The former Town of Sherrod, site of Sherrod Loop is for sale! 

from Poor's DSP&P

Check out the listing here.

Here is the description:

Don't miss your opportunity to own a very historic piece of Colorado property known as the Town of Sherrod. This 40 acre parcel was the town site of Sherrod and part of the Sherrod loop on the Alpine tunnel loop. The town of Sherrod was founded in 1903 and had a 3 year span known for its rich silver lodes in the surrounding mountains. The town had 2 hotels, 2 stores, a newspaper and several log cabins. In 1904 the Colorado & Southern Railroad constructed a train depot and a rail spur to move mining ores. Later on that depot was moved down to the town of Ohio City. Elevation of this property is 10,950.

Here is a great photo from the listing site: