C&S Coach 70 to be restored!

I just received word from Bob Bowland, longtime Idaho Springs resident, of the following very exciting news: 

C&S coach 70 "will be transported to the Georgetown Loop shops for a full restoration about the end of this month [October] when the Loop operations close down. The loop will be able to retain some staff using pandemic employment funds.  The City[of Idaho Springs] is obligated, among other things, to construct a train shed over the whole train. Seems about as win-win as most deals get."

Unfortunately, I don't have any other details, but if anyone else knows more, please share.  This is great news!

                            

       

Video of the St. Elmo boxcars

 Like many other visitors to the eastern approach of the South Park's route to Alpine Tunnel, I've always been intrigued by the two old C&S boxcars/outfit cars resting above the town of St. Elmo.  Here is a short video showing how they looked 110 years after they were put in place (1908-2018).

History Colorado wrote the following regarding the two cars:

The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, along with its successors the Denver, Leadville & Gunnison and the Colorado & Southern, faced heavy operating costs, particularly on the Alpine Tunnel District portion of its route.

The reuse of railroad cars as stationery structures provided quick and inexpensive shelter for equipment storage, crew bunkhouses, and even the occasional depot.  The Colorado & Southern used the two former box cars on the site for crew quarters and storage from 1908 until 1922.

C&S 9 video - 2010 arrival at Breckenridge

Close to a decade ago, C&S 9 arrived at her new home on the old Right-of-Way in Breckenridge.  Four years previously she had a short revival to life pulling trains on the Georgetown Loop.  After that she was cosmetically restored and eventually reunited with her tender (at GLRR she operated with C&S 74's tender).  Here is a video of her "final" (one can never know for sure!) move to her present resting place at Rotary Snowplow Park.

Finally, some hope for the Palisades

 So delighted to hear there is some movement on repairing the damage to the rock wall at the Palisades on the way to the west portal of Alpine Tunnel.  If you haven't seen this before, I know the call for letters is past due, but I'm sure they would still welcome a collection of letters as the process to get funding goes forward.

Below is a letter by Chuck Severance detailing what is being done and a way you can help.

There is a concerted effort underway across numerous interested parties to procure funding to repair the Palisades damage from 2016. This effort is being led by Chuck Severance here in Colorado in conjunction with Gunnison National Forest personnel. He is asking for all groups or individuals with any interest in seeing the Palisades repaired to please help out by considering writing a letter in support of the project. These instructions are geared towards groups but individuals are very welcome to write also. The more the merrier! Please see Chuck's call to action below:

Today I am hoping to enlist your help to write a letter of support that we discussed a few months back for the repair of the historic Palisade Wall of the Alpine Tunnel near Pitkin. Here is a short drone video of the wall. 

Progress on this project has been slow but steady for over a year now. We are currently awaiting approved final NFS engineering plans and bids from the contractors, but our concept budget is around $350-$450,000. On a positive note, The National Forest Foundation (NFF) has agreed to be the applicant for all grants. The NFF has the experience and advantage in grant writing, contracting, administration, and insurance. On the downside, History Colorado recently announced they will not be accepting grant applications exceeding $50,000 as a result of their revenue shortfall due to the closing of casinos for COVID.

Despite this setback, our working group of NFF and Gunnison National Forest (GNF) are pushing ahead. It is hoped that even a $50,00 grant will be valued as seed money to fuel other groups to contribute as well. The best news yet, The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) proposed by Senator Gardner and signed by President Trump 8/4/20 provides $2 Billion per year to National Parks and Forests for deferred maintenance – half of which is targeted for roads. As the details of the GAO Act gets clarified, GNF has committed to submitting the Palisade Wall as a shovel ready project. The GNF leaders are now hopeful to join this project not only with engineering and project management, but significant funding as well.

To be proactive in anticipation of GAO Act funding and project approval, we are proceeding with several grant applications. Our first grant application to History Colorado is due September 1st as a draft version and October 1st as a final version. Support letters are critical to each application, as we have discussed. We hope to show a diverse group of users and stakeholders including historic preservation, motorized recreation, and economic impacts.

I am asking that you please include the following in your support letter:

Your name and address on your letterhead, if available.

A description or mission statement of your group.

Number of members.

How you contribute to history, economics, or recreation in Colorado.

Why you think it is important to have the Palisade Wall repaired.

Please sign your support letter.

Letters should be dated and addressed to (but not sent to):

Mr. Tim Stroh, AIA

Director, State Historical Fund

1200 Broadway

Denver, CO 80203

Please scan or save your letters as a .pdf file and e-mail to me at chuck@crsarchitect.com. I hope to receive your support letter by mid September. Please save your letters, as I may ask for the letters to be refreshed with new dates for future applications. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions or comments. I am trying to be brief here, but I have much more to share if you are interested.

Thank you so much for your interest and support in this historic and trail preservation project.

Sincerely yours,

Chuck Severance

C&S boxcar 8179 comes to Como!

On the morning of September 24th, 2020, a C&S boxcar finally came home!  She arrived in Como.  Here is the writeup written by Jason Midyette: 

"Como received a new boxcar this morning.

"Colorado & Southern 8179 was a "Miller Car" that went to the RGS in 1938 and stayed on to the end of operations. The RGS made the car into an outfit car and used it until the end, when it was scrapped. The carbody ended up in Olathe, where it spent nearly 70 years as a shed. The car was acquired by the South Park Rail Society last year. We moved it from Olathe yesterday and unloaded it in Como this morning."

Jason Midyette photo

To see more photos, check out this thread on the Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum.

Hear the man who piloted the last rotary through Alpine Tunnel

 I came across an amazing gem via the Colorado Railroad Museum website.  

On April 21, 1958, Mac Poor, famed author of DSP&P and co-author of the Pictorial Supplement to the DSP&P, recorded the audio of an interview between himself and George Champion, the man who piloted the final rotary snowplow through Alpine Tunnel.  This journey occurred between December 31, 1909 and January 4, 1910.

It is stunning to hear from a man who was there along with hearing Poor's voice as the two record this historical memory for posterity.

Enjoy!

East Portal of Alpine Tunnel & Romley Bridge 1992 video

In 1992 my parents took me and my brother to the east portal of Alpine Tunnel for the first time.

We lugged our Panasonic VHS-C camcorder up to the tunnel entrance and I took some video of the tip of the portal's redwood frame.  One could still see into the top a short bit, though most was filled with rockfall.  Sadly, this is now forever lost from view as the remains of the face of east portal collapsed some time later.

The second portion of the video shows the rail facilities outside of the west portal as seen from the top of Altman/Alpine Pass.  This is before restoration work laid track at various spots once again.  It is also before the removal of the snowshed timbers leading to the west portal and before restoration work to the turntable walkway.

The final portion of the video shows us driving our rental car over the former South Park railroad bridge at Romley several miles below the townsite of Hancock, east of the tunnel.  At a later date the road was diverted around the bridge, as it is today, so you can no longer drive over it.