C&S 60 has a future!

C&S consolidation No. 60 has led a tame life compared to her remaining 4 sisters engines.

No. 31 got to Illinois and then Wisconsin before coming to Golden, Colorado.  No. 71, while still in Central City, got a short several year revival pulling trains in the late 1980's and was almost taken to the Georgetown Loop in the 1990s.  No. 74 got a stint finishing out the last years of the Rio Grande Southern before coming to rest in Boulder.  And No. 9 traveled to New York, ran for 2 years in Chicago, got stored in Illinois, put on display in South Dakota, and finally returned to Silver Plume where it was steamed up again for one season on the Georgetown Loop.  It now rests on display in Breckenridge.

No. 60, well, has just been taking it easy in Idaho Springs since 1941.  It apparently got one move somewhere along the line from being in front of a gift shop to now gracing the front of the town's city hall.  The paint scheme also removed the Burlington logo and reverted to C&S lettering.  It also got a little attention when the Colorado Historical Society considered restoring it for service on the Georgetown Loop, though this designation eventually went to No. 9.

Yesterday, I checked in on the fairly new Colorado and Southern Railway Society and discovered that they have some plans for No. 60 and coach 70.  Their main focus at the moment appears to be working on C&S caboose 1006 from Silver Plume, but the engine and coach are next on their to-do list.  Here are some of their comments from their Facebook page:

C&SRyS now has three exciting projects we are overseeing in the effort towards Colorado &Southern preservation.

We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization, and all donations are tax deductible.

Donations can be earmarked for any one of our three projects.

1. Operational Restoration of the Caboose 1006.

2. Operational Restoration of Coach 70.

3. Survey/assessment of B-4-C class locomotive 60 for eventual restoration.

Help us out with a contribution or if you want to come out and help contact us and we will let you know when our next work session will be.

It seems that some people have asked whether the C&S Ry Society are serious and will actually finish what they have started.  Here is the group's honest and encouraging response:

The caboose 1006 project is well underway and we are in preparing to apply for an SHF grant.

With funds in place the caboose will not take an extraordinary amount of time to complete. However the main goal was to get it out of the elements and under cover. So as the 1006 sits right now it's secure and protected in the event we encounter setbacks in funding.

The coach 70 is undergoing stabilization right now so it does not deteriorate further. We are also preparing a grant for it as well.

The 60 is an evaluation project right now; we are assessing its condition and preparing a long term plan based on findings and the wishes of the City of Idaho Springs.

We understand the concerns that might be present over the taking on of such projects; and are very cognizant of the occurrences of volunteer groups who have left projects unfinished.

So we are understanding of the concern.

Most of us involved have worked on steam railroads for many years and are committed to the long term endeavor of seeing the restoration of C&S equipment.

Anyone who wants to see what is going on first hand is invited to come out to clear creek county and have a look around

In the last month Colorado & Southern Railway Society has begun to work on the locomotive 60 and the Coach 70 in partnership with the City of Idaho Springs.

This restoration is a long term project which the City is very excited to see happen as there was a great deal of local concern as to the condition and future of the locomotive and coach.

As of now the priority project is a complete restoration of Coach 70 which goes hand in hand with the work we are engaged in restoring Caboose 1006.

As of current the locomotive is being inspected and assessed for work in the future.