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 more miscellaneous South Park Line/C&S-related news from the 1974 editions.

1974

Part 1

January

(The ill-fated Sundown and Southern is born)

A NEW NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD ATTRACTION is under development near the town of Fort Lupton. Construction adjacent to the Flying-D-Ranch, a privately owned airport open to the public, will hopefully be completed in time for operation next summer. The mile railroad will be used to bring passengers from the main highway to a reconstructed western town.

An interesting array of buildings, equipment and rolling stock is being assembled for the project, including the old Fort Lupton depot, the Hudson Colorado jail, several railroad water tanks, one of which is from near Durango, and the turntable from Alamosa. Rolling stock includes numerous pieces of D&RG freight cars, a business car, caboose and an outside frame IRCA 2-8-0 from Central America- and a baggage car and a combine from the Tweetsie Railroad. Maintenance will be done in a two track car shop now being built.

(Ed. Some more info about the Sundown and Southern, the C&S car it once had, and the project's demise can be found in this post)

(C&S 60's bell is stolen)

C&S 60 in 1990 (In '74 the engine was in a different spot)

VANISHED ~ Old C&S Engine No. 60 on display in Idaho Springs is no longer adorned by its bell. It mysteriously disappeared one night this fall. As it is highly unlikely a strong mountain wind blew it away, it can be safely presumed that it was stolen. Anyone who may have information on this disgusting matter should contact the Depot Gift Shop in Idaho Springs or the proper Authorities.

April

(Denver Union Station to close)

THE BURLINGTON NORTHERN'S real estate people apparently have cooking on their stove a recipe for closing down Denver Union Station, possible by next year. Not much has been said about it, and information is sketchy, but it appears to be part of their plan for removing rail facilities for the Platt River vicinity and transforming the entire area into a vast office, apartment and hotel complex. They would like to see the 15th and 16th street viaducts removed among other things, and nearby streets that terminate at Wynkoop extended north toward the river. The Denver Union Terminal Railway Company, which is owned by six railroads which operated trains into the city, operates the station and has not been contacted by the BN regarding the matter. All the railroads would have to agree on the closing. The last thing Denver needs is a Cincinnati “Tastee-Freez" style structure out in the sticks somewhere.

May

(Dave Digerness, author of The Mineral Belt book series, presentation)

PROGRAM FOR THE MAY MEETING OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN RAILROAD CLUB.

Dave Digerness, who has been a member of the club since 1959, will present his slide show entitled ’’Over the Sierra Madres of Mexico to the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans". In the fall of 1971, Dave, who is an excellent freelance photographer, travelled through Old Mexico by rail and toured her cities by many modes of travel including, bus, cab, horse drawn carriage, trolley bus, trolley car, subway and on foot. Dave is a native of Georgetown, Colorado, being the fifth generation of the family from the famous old silver mining town high in the mountains west of Denver.

In fact, his interest in railroads stemmed from watching the narrow gauge Colorado & Southern trains in Clear Creek Canyon and has grown until today his interest in railroads has become national.

Dave’s great grandfather was the founder and publisher of the well-known Georgetown Courier and he wrote and recorded not only the early annals of Georgetown and Clear Creek County but of the other mining counties as well, resulting in valuable historic records. Dave has been employed for almost

20 years by the United States Geological Survey and his photographic work is renowned not only nationally but around the world, having appeared on the cover of Empire Magazine, Christmas cards and calendars.

(Shay No. 4 arrives in Central City)

COLORADO’S STEAM LOCOMOTIVE POPULATION increased by one with arrival at Central City of

No. 4 arrives. Jerry Albers photo

Camino, Cable & Northern No. 4 (ex-West Side Lumber Co,) on Saturday, April 27. Three days were required to move the three foot gauge Shay and its tender aboard two trucks from Camino, California. Crossing of the Continental Divide was done via Berthoud Pass. Plans are to put the old logging engine in operating condition for use on the Colorado Central Narrow Gauge at Central City. (Ed. in 1977 she became the sole power at the CCNG).

1973

July

(Veteran South Park railroaders visit Alpine Tunnel)

THE OBSERVANCE OF "ALPINE TUNNEL DAYS" this year will be held at the west portal of the tunnel on Sunday, August 5, 1973, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and should turn out to be more interesting than ever before. Present for the occasion will be several noted Colorado rail historians who will review the story of the tunnel, and several veteran South Park Railroad men, who will recount their personal experiences on the famous line. A conducted hike over the crest of Altman Pass above the tunnel to the east portal will be made (Or, if you are the ambitious type, you may bring along your pick and shovel and try to use the tunnel to get to the other side).

The Alpine Tunnel "tombstone" 1990s

A number of rare and valuable RR artifacts are to be given away at the site, including sections of the original rail from the west portal, a miniature duplicate of the “Train Order” semaphore that graced the front of the little Alpine Tunnel depot, several books, and other gifts. Complimentary and cold drinks will be served.

Memorial ceremonies will be held in honor of the late Mac Poor, foremost South Park rail historian, and a native pink granite stone, installed some time ago (1967), will be dedicated to his memory.

If it has been a long time since you’ve visited this scenic and historic area, or if you have never traversed the roadbed of this engineering marvel of the late 1800’s, now may be the opportunity for a pleasant weekend outing to a “Highlight of the High Country.”

(Ed. It would be nice to know exactly where the "sections of the original rail from the west portal" came from. The snowshed still sat on rails, but those weren't cleared out until much later. Much of the remaining mile of track from the tunnel, left after the 1923/1924 scrapping, was also gone by this point to my knowledge, likely pulled in 1959).

October

(First two bridges and track installed at the Georgetown Loop. Also, first steam engine arrives)

LOOP UPDATE - Work is proceeding well on the Georgetown Loop, Both bridges at the upper end of the loop have been set in place. The first crossing of the creek on the descent from Silver Plume is over the truss bridge, which was obtained from the Black Hollow Branch of the C&S out of Fort Collins.

No. 44 on display in Georgetown 1992

A short distance from that, the track immediately swings back over the second bridge, which is substantially higher than the first, due to the rapid fall of the creek in that area. This bridge is the same structure that was in place when the line was dismantled. It had been removed to a location south of Denver where it remained until recently. This bridge is of particular interest in that it was originally a turntable for a Denver area narrow gauge line. It replaced the original bridge installed when the loop was constructed.

Tracklaying has begun at the bridge and will proceed upgrade to Silver Plume. Only minor grading work was necessary to return the roadbed to acceptable condition. A second track has been laid in front of the station to help accommodate the 17 freight cars now at the location. Construction work is being handled by two groups of Naval Reserve Seabees as a summer camp training exercise. The second group took over when the first was finished.

On September 18th, Engine No. 44 and its tender were trucked to Silver Plume from Central City. When the engine was fired up on Friday the 21st, it had been nearly 35 years since narrow gauge steam had departed from the valley.

In recent weeks Old Man Winter has indicated his coming arrival with some snow and rain in the mountains. Hopefully he will keep his nose out of Colorado until work is completed at the site.

November

(Georgetown Loop: Anyone have a trestle around?!)

ALL IS QUIET in the valley below Silver Plume on the Georgetown Loop project. With bridges in place and about a mile of track laid, work has been halted for the winter months. Next spring construction will resume and by summer trains should be operating as far as the site of the High Bridge. Replacing this structure is the biggest obstacle to completion of the line. A bridge of 300 feet in length and 100 feet in height will be needed. If you should happen to know of someone who has something like this sitting around in his back yard and doesn’t know what to do with it, contact club member and curator of the historic site Ed Gerlits in Georgetown, and it'll probably disappear overnight.

(Ed. Ed Gerlits was also one of the principle players behind the High Country Railroad in Golden)

(DB&W Boulder depot moved)

DB&W Boulder depot

CHANGE OF ADDRESS The DB&W Depot that had been located near downtown Boulder has been moved to the Pow Wow Grounds near 30th and Pearl. The old stone building had to be cut in half to accomplish the one mile move. The Boulder Jaycees undertook the project to preserve the historic structure and to provide a meeting hall for their members and for other community organizations . Repair and remodeling of the building is being done with volunteer work. If you would like to help a little, or a lot, in this worthy endeavor contact Hank Lopez of the Jaycees. Ultimate goal is to return the building to its original appearance, complete with cupola on the roof.

(Ed. C&S 74, 75, and 76 came from the the Denver, Boulder & Western, originally the Colorado and Northwestern.)

Ex-DB&W, C&S, RGS 30/74 on display in Boulder in 1973. Ted Weise photo

Searching for the C&S narrow gauge

Friday, June 24, 2022

1974 C&S News (1) - Sundown and Southern is born, C&S 60's bell is stolen, Shay No. 4 comes to Central City