The C&S Leadville Freight Depot finds a new life

The Leadville Freight Depot has been standing along the C&S (and now LC&S) tracks for a long time.  In fact, she was close to collapsing.  Recently a company calling itself simply "Freight" restored the entire structure and repurposed it for use as an event space.  According to their website, the former freight house will now be a place for Dances, Film screenings, Fashion Shows, Community Fundraisers, TED-like Talks, Weddings, Anniversaries, Meetings, Corporate Events, Poetry Readings, and Sunset Gazing.


The site lists the following background:
Over its more than century-long history the freight depot had served only two owners: the railroad, and since the 1920s, Smith Lumber Company. It had even been involved in a couple colorful incidents of historical intrigue involving conspiracy and murder on the railroad. Originally, the freight depot was the Front Range’s gateway to Leadville, bringing supplies to its residents and shipping out tons of silver ore from its booming mines.  During the second half of the 20th Century, Smith Lumber used the building to store lumber that arrived by train until 1967, when the railroad closed and by truck until Smith’s closure in 2014.  

I don't know exactly what is being referred to when they say the railroad closed in 1967.  The C&S/CB&Q/BN operated the line until 1981 to my knowledge.

Below is a great video showing the process of restoration and the new owners' vision for the freight depot's future.


The video below is nothing outstanding.  It's just someone riding the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad from the Leadville depot for a few minutes.  I posted it because it shows a nice trackside view of the old C&S freight depot beginning at about :17 before the recent renovation.

Alpine Tunnel 4x4 video

There are a lot of 4x4 videos out there of folks driving around the area surrounding the Alpine Tunnel.  The one below, though, is unique in that it includes a walk along the eastern approach from Hancock to the east portal and includes some low flying drone footage along the right-of-way as well as some time lapses.



For a full video of the route from Hancock to East Portal, see my GoPro film of the entire length here.

C&S 60 "Steaming" in Idaho Springs in 2018

Below is a video I put together of video footage and photos from my family's July 2018 visit to Idaho Springs, Colorado.  At the beginning of the video, through the use of fun green screen work and sound effects, I played around making No. 60 look like she is steamed up and about to leave for Georgetown and Silver Plume.  This was my first time giving this a shot, so please forgive my amateur-ishness!  :)

The story of No. 60 and how she was saved can be found on this post.



Below are two of the interpretive signs near the train (and a pic of my family!).  I somehow managed to forget to take a photo of the sign related to coach 70.

C&S No. 9 from the view of BN employee

The story of C&S No. 9 including its survival and short lived restoration to operation is quite fascinating.  Many have told of their experience with the engine, most significantly Jason Midyette's excellent book One Short Season.  

C&S 9 at Keystone, SD June 1984 from Eddie's Railfan Page

 I came across the following from the viewpoint of a Burlington Northern employee (the former parent company of the C&S, descended from the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy).  The 2016 comment comes from the Railway Preservation News forum.  He, as many, has strong feelings about what occurred with No. 9.  Being only a far-away bystander myself, I make no claim to accuracy in the events that happened, and I don't claim that the criticisms below are correct or not.  Still, I found his viewpoint interesting because it comes from an interesting angle.

"To add my two centavos worth... in the late 1980s, employees of the BN diesel shop in Denver tried to work with the CHS to restore #9 and her trainset (after we had been unable to get a standard gauge engine), to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this equipment being used to represent the Burlington Lines at the Chicago Railroad Fair. At the time we still had employees who had worked on the Clear Creek Division. (Brother, we had a guy that started in COMO two months before it closed.) BN wanted to find a way to write off the small car shop that had once been used to maintain the narrow gauge passenger cars, which had a drop table, overhead crane, air compressor, press, lathe, mill, etc. and this would have allowed it. (As it turned out, this was torn down to avoid paying tax on it.) 

"The unions made exceptions for employees to volunteer their time, and our diesel shop foremen were in favor of putting the equipment on standard gauge flatcars, which we could spot inside the big shop when we had room for an extracurricular project. This would have allowed deck level access from the shop ramps. BN liked the idea, and was going to underwrite it.

"THIS WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR CHS. Instead they spent trainloads of tax money to screw up this project. I especially appreciate that nobody in this thread has placed blame on Marlin Uhrich because it didn't work out. He is a very gifted machinist and boilermaker, who tried to reason with CHS BOD unsuccessfully JUST LIKE BN DID 20 years before. Many people HAVE blamed him just because he tried to make the CHS's bull$%*# fly.

September 29, 2006-Silver Plume

"Not only is Marlin a bona fide genius, but he is an extremely nice fella, and he is known to and respected by almost everybody with steam oil in their blood around these parts. I saw the whole #9 thing happen, and am very fortunate to have Uhrich Locomotive Works assisting me with my personal locomotive restoration. They have my complete confidence. If I am not successful, it won't be Marlin's fault, you can be absolutely positive on that !!!"

There are lots of heavy words in there towards the CHS.  Again, I'm mostly interested in the workings of the BN around the loco, not in casting blame.  

To quote one of the moderators over at Railway Preservation News, "As your moderator, even as I feed the flames, we need to be careful of this discussion… it can too easily devolve into blame and name calling… The Loop is a wonderful historic site, and a great tourist train… and can get better… I also note that History Colorado funds a large number of Colorado history projects... support that isn't common outside of Colorado."

West Portal of Alpine Tunnel by drone

When my family visited the Alpine Tunnel this summer, I rented a drone hoping to get great aerial footage of the west and east portals.  I ran out of time on the west side and, due to my inexperience with drones, was too afraid to fly too high on the east (You can see that footage here).

Lo and behold, I found someone who did what I wanted to do at west portal.  He flies his drone super high!  It's so high that at one point you can even see the eastern approach.  It is stunning footage.  I don't know who David Moore is.  This video simply came up in a Facebook search for the Alpine Tunnel.  I wish his video was on Youtube, but I could only find it here on Facebook.

Below are some screenshots from his video:

Here is the right-of-way looking west (west portal out of sight to the bottom of the photo) with the turntable to the right.

Here is the cut leading to the west portal, indicated by the large round gash in the mountainside.  The construction trail over the pass can be seen to the right.

Another shot looking west.  Alpine Tunnel station complex is in the center of the photo with the remains of the engine house to the left of the grade and the telegraph office to the right.

Even higher than the previous photo, the grade can be seen veering to the left to head west.

Tunnel Lake can be seen just a little above the center of the photo. 

The west portal and the turntable.

Moore flew his drone high enough over the pass that one can see the grade on the east side.  It can be seen just to the right of and below the clump of trees in the center left of the photo.  This is near Atlantic siding.  The east portal, if I'm correct, would be behind the trees in the left of the photo.

Alpine Tunnel station complex 1994-2018

While looking through Ray Rossman's application to create the Alpine Tunnel Historic District (see previous post), I noticed a few photos that were similar to ones I took this past summer in July of 2018.  It was neat to see the development to the Alpine Tunnel station complex.  So much is owed to Rossman and the countless volunteers who worked for the Passport In Time work days. 

The first photo was taken sometime between 1994 and 1996, presumably by Rossman.  The second is from my family's 2018 trip.  In addition to the track, once can also notice the rebuilt shed on the back of the telegraph office/station.

Saving the Alpine Tunnel Historic District in 1994

In April of 1994 Ray Rossman, East Zone Heritage Resource Manager for the U.S. Forest Service in Gunnison, filled out an important document that helped set in motion the tremendous restoration and historical work done to the Alpine Tunnel district.  That document was the "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form."  It was "for use in nominating or requesting determination for individual properties and districts."  I discovered this form online here.

In the form, Rossman names the stretch "along DSP&P railbed from Quartz to Hancock" as the "Alpine Tunnel Historic District."  The area is spelled out more specifically later as
"from the bridge crossing Chalk Creek at the Hancock townsite to the intersection of the railbed with the Cumberland Pass Wagon Road within the townsite of Quartz."  Also, "The boundary runs 100 feet on either side of the railbed centerline for approximately 13.8 miles.  Three hundred feet of the former Atlantic rail spur northwest of the east portal.  The district also includes the historic trail over Altman Pass."

The form is quite extensive, including a narrative description, a map, topographical details, a list of contributing and noncontributing structures and sites, a statement of historical, engineering, transportation, and informational significance, geographical data, present property owners along the route, and a photograph log (with accompanying photos).

It is an interest document to peruse.  I include below a few interesting excerpts with a few notable points in bold:

Alpine Tunnel station/telegraph office

The Mile-Hi Jeep Club recently restored the [Alpine Tunnel telegraph office] and removed the extension. The only deviation from the original construction is the replacement of the tar paper roof with steel roofing material. The building retains its historic integrity, is the best preserved structure at the station complex, and is a contributing building in the district.

Outhouse

"A two-hole outhouse/privy is located 35 feet west of the boarding house. The building has partially fallen over. This was the second outhouse constructed. Photographic evidence suggests the original structure was located directly west of the front entrance of the engine house."

The Storage Cellar

"A covered storage cellar is located 20 feet south of the boarding house. Entrance was gained though a covered walkway that extended from the front porch of the boarding house. Today the structure has lost its metal roof and the stone walls are leaning inward."

The Coaling Platform

"Forty feet south of the cellar are the standing timbers of a 16'x 32' coaling platform. Coated by creosote, the structure has remained in good condition. The eastern side has shown the most deterioration. The structure contributes to the district."

Future Plans (includes rebuilding the boarding house!)

"Future management plans for the Alpine Tunnel Station complex calls for the restoration of the coaling platform, outhouse and storage cellar. The ultimate goal calls for the restoration of the facility to its 1910 configuration including the rebuilding of the two story wooden boarding house."

Tunnel Gulch Water Tank

About a half mile downgrade a new water tank, the Tunnel Gulch water tank, was built after the avalanche. The Tunnel Gulch water tank. This structure was stabilized and restored by the Mile High Jeep Club. The tank is one of the best examples of the typical water tanks used along the South Park rail system. The structure contributes to the district."

The Tunnel Interior

"The interior, though not easily accessible, remains in moderately good condition. There are two minor rock falls and a major tunnel collapse within the tunnel. The most significant is a 300-350 foot section which collapsed and completely sealed off the eastern portal. The western portal, faced with locally quarried hand-cut granite stones, has been covered by talus debris and has suffered only minor damage. Several support beams throughout the tunnel have also collapsed. In addition, a white mold covers some of the interior redwood timbers. The original rails and ties extend the length of the tunnel. These rails represent the only portion of the entire DSP&P rail system that remains intact. Water covers a portion of the railbed at both ends where the tunnel is sealed off. The snowsheds that protected both portals have totally collapsed and decayed. The east portal was constructed directly into solid granite and required no external facing. The tunnel is a contributing structure in the district."

The Stone Section House

"The stone section house was an "L" shaped structure built in 1881. It functioned as the original boarding house for the assigned complex crew members. The initial construction measured 55'x 30' and had a 25'x 16' addition added to the northeast corner prior to 1896. The corner, window, door and sill stones are of native hand-cut granite. The walls were constructed with random sized native stone material. Based upon photo evidence this facility was abandoned by 1896. Today only foundations and segments of the lower walls remain visible."


More gems can be found throughout the document.

Curiously, there is a stamp on this document stating that it was received in 1996.  That is a roughly two-year gap between when Rossman completed it and it was received.  I'm not sure why this is.

Also, here is an interesting photo of a culvert in the form that I didn't know about.