Rocky Point photos

The DSP&P crossed the mountains from Como to Breckinridge on its way to Leadville via Boreas Pass.  Sometime after abandonment, the roadbed was converted to a dirt auto road.  At one spot, called Rocky Point, the auto road leaves the original train roadbed for a short stretch to avoid rock work used by the railroad since it was too narrow for two-way auto traffic.  At this spot, a short stretch of narrow gauge track was relaid on the protected, original right-of-way.  Below are the photos I took as my family explored this little gem. 

On an little pamphlet that I picked up many years ago it states: "Here a stretch of original railroad grade remains unaltered due to expensive rockwork required to widen it for auto travel.  (A few back-East rail passengers probably got a little green around the gills as those narrow gauge cars swayed around this sharp turn.)"

The Other, Other Palisade

When most of us think of a palisade, we think of THE palisades-the rock retaining walls built on the upper portion of the grade leading to the west portal of Alpine Tunnel.  Some of us also might think of a very similar palisade at Ohio Pass.  This one was part of an uncompleted grade of the DSP&P.  However, there is another one without the fame of the others.

Tom and Denise Klinger point out in South Park's Gunnison Division Memories & Then Some that "About 1.3 miles upgrade from the Midway tank [on the route to the Alpine Tunnel], there is a small palisade."  In the 1880's photo below you can see a small consist posing for a portrait.  On our ride up the grade this past July, I was doubtful of being able to locate this spot, especially since the Klingers state that the "location was most difficult to locate and duplicate in 2011.  Trees have grown around the palisade and the earthen embankment has all but disappeared."  However, I wondered if there had been some clearing of trees as the spot in 2018 was now not too difficult to find.  I was able to climb down the downgrade embankment with a minor amount of sliding and "Be careful's" from my wife.

In retrospect, I wished I had planned the shot and tried to mimic the same level of the camera to get a before and after shot, but I'm too far down the embankment.

If one looks closely, I think the stones can be matched up between the two photos.  It appears that the top corner stone (close to the photographer) is now missing.  The two stones downgrade from this one are identifiable as well as the thinner stones beneath them.  I have a hard time identifying others, especially due to the differing angles.

Ed and Nancy Bathke Collection

Split Rock 1880s-2018

We returned not too long ago from our family trip to Colorado.  I amassed great quantities of photos of videos of C&S sites and will share them as I have the chance to process them.  Here is the first one I had the chance to work on: a before and after of Split Rock near the palisades. 


Here my daughter and I attempted to recreate in 2018 a photo from what I think would be the late 1800s.  The original photographer must have been up just a little higher than I was.  I can line up the mountains and the rock cliffs perfectly, but then "split rock" is a bit off.  I have fades where I line up the mountains and some others where I line up the split rock. Historical photo from the James Ozment collection.

How Come, Why, and How Mac Poor Wrote 'DSP&P'

Some of you may have read my summary of the following article in the latest Bogies and the Loop, but for those of you who would like the full details, The Denver Westerners graciously gave me permission to scan and share this 1965 edition of their Roundup publication with an essay by Mac Poor, author of the foundational Denver, South Park & Pacific, chronicling his journey in writing his book.  (the Westerners did request that it not be published in print anywhere without their permission)

One little curiosity found towards the end of the article is Mac's resistance to providing a reprint or second edition.  As much as I respect Poor, I'm sure glad that his view was overruled in 1976!  Otherwise many of us would never own a copy of his definitive book.

By the way, when you click on any of the pages below it will enlarge in your screen.  Hopefully, that will make the text easier to read.

A Replica of the McGees Depot?

In preparation for my family’s trip to Colorado I was reading through sections of Robert K. Bain’s meticulous guide called Tracing the Denver South Park & Pacific. My curiosity was piqued when reading about McGees where Bain notes that a replica depot was built there and “is said to be on the site of the original depot. It is now a railroad-oriented Bed & Breakfast.”

Curious to know more I looked it up and discovered the Trout City Berth and Breakfast. I assumed that this was just another kitschy type spot (and some of it is), but upon reading further it became clear that the owners were much more exacting than I guessed.

After acquiring the site of the former McGees depot in 1987, Irene and Juel Kjeldsen, according to Colorado Central Magazine article, accessed plans and blueprints from the Colorado Railroad Museum in order to create several accurate DSP&P replicas including of course the depot, but also a handcart, a Pullman sleeping car, a caboose, and a model of a Mason-Bogie. The sleeping car and caboose were “mounted on trucks (the wheel assemblies) brought back from a narrow-gauge logging line in Oregon and set in place where the original DSP&P rails ran through the property.”

In addition to replicas, “the main room of the depot is filled with railroad memorabilia found on the property as well as maps, photos, an authentic telegraph set, framed correspondence between McFarland and his supervisor, and a poignant entry in his personal journal concerning the death of his wife.”

Of course, the depot's express purpose right now is accommodations, and the article below gives more detail regarding what is provided. As of this writing I wasn’t able to find a website (though it does appear on this site with lists of caboose lodging through the US) and considering that my main source of information was from a 1998 article, I can only guess that it is still in operation. The phone number listed in the article is 710-395-8433.

Sources:

Tracing the Denver South Park & Pacific: A detailed, mile-by-mile guide for tracing the roadbed of this legendary narrow gauge railroad by Robert K. Bain. 1994.

“Berth and Breakfast at restored railroad station” by Clint Driscoll. Colorado Central Magazine, 1 August 1998.

All the photos, except the first one are from this link on a real estate site.

Rolling Rock Curve Then and Now

I have always loved the before and after photos from Then and Now Colorado.  This is the first video I've seen with the man behind the photos doing a short explanation of a location, in this case Rolling Rock Curve, along with lining up several photos of the site in DSP&P days.

Help needed for Como!

Below is a Facebook post
"As many of you know, The Operations in Como were cut short due to fire concerns last week,

"However the brief operations on Saturday revealed we do not have nearly enough capacity to accommodate the turnout of supporters wanting to ride the new line. With Boreas Pass Railroad day rapidly approaching we need to address the capacity issue . Luckily we were able to lease 2 Rider boxcars from the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic railroad. The cars are currently in storage at the Georgetown Loop Railroad but we need to move them to Como ASAP and prep them for operation by Boreas Pass Railroad Days on August 18th. Unfortunately our loss of an operating day and the costs of moving gondola #4319 to Como have left us short of funds to move these two boxcars to the Como yard. The estimated cost to move them is $3000.00 I know money is tight and while Como may not be as "Exciting" as a T-12 or or some other equally worthwhile projects we could really use your financial support . I hope you will consider a donation to help with the moving expenses.This is the link to our fundraiser.

"Here are the cars that, With your help, will soon be calling Como home."