The Swan Songs of Central City - Part 4

The Swan Songs of Central City

-Part 4

by Kurt Maechner

Here is Part 1

Here is Part 2

Here is Part 3

 Locomotion

A small note in the Iron Horse News, a newsletter published by the Colorado Railroad Museum’s Bob Richardson, caught the Ashby’s attention.  It stated that some narrow gauge engines in El Salvador were soon to be scrapped.  Lindsey, on the outlook for hard-to-find narrow gauge steam, subsequently wrote a letter to the commercial attaché in San Salvador to get him in touch with the government-owned El Salvador Railway.  

Teko Salvadoreno photo (El Salvador steam)

The railway sent a letter in response, in Spanish of course, necessitating translation, which explained that they had a small 2-8-0 3-foot gauge engine, No. 36, available to purchase.  The locomotive was still in use and the letter noted that it was in great shape with the exception of its mirrors.  The latter statement about mirrors seemed a bit odd, but hardly concerning.  This letter then led to a phone conversation conducted out of an attorney’s office in the US, with the attorney on the line.  Thankfully, someone at the attorney’s office could speak Spanish which helped get to someone at the El Salvador Railway who spoke English.  In the end, the purchase looked promising and plans were made to visit El Salvador to see No. 36 in person.  

For the trip to Central America, Lindsey wanted to bring a second set of eyes.  It should be noted that, while the Ashbys were the driving force behind what would become the Colorado Central Narrow Gauge, they knew the task would be insurmountable without help and thus partnered with several other families to create and operate the line.  The second set of eyes, then, came from one of these partners, a city engineer by the name of Bill Baird.  Bill and Lindsey hopped a Pan Am flight together and flew south of the border to visit what they hoped would become the first live steam engine in Central City in over four decades.   

Down in El Salvador Lindsey and Bill had the thrill to ride behind big steam still in regular service.  But while it delighted the two men’s eyes to see those grand locomotives, the real purpose of their visit was to see a diminutive engine.  The two were eventually taken to a roundhouse where little No. 36 was under steam.  Unfortunately, this engine that was supposedly in excellent condition was, instead, leaking steam all over.  It was then that Lindsey and Bill began to wonder about the original letter regarding No. 36 and the veracity of their Spanish-to-English translation.  Later, they would find out that what was rendered in the letter as “bad mirrors,” was actually “bad flues,” a serious problem for a steam locomotive.

Still, despite No. 36’s obvious flaws, it was steaming and, as Lindsey noted, it didn’t blow up!  In the end, Lindsey and Bill were offered not only No. 36, but two more engines at $2500 each.  The pair declined the additional steamers, knowing they could not afford more than one, and agreed to purchase the 2-8-0 for their new railroad.

The challenge ahead of them now was transportation.  Thankfully, a narrow gauge line, the International Railways of Central America (IRCA), ran north through several countries.  Lindsey and Bill visited the railway to make arrangements.  At the office of the IRCA, owned by the American-based United Fruit Company, a British gentleman living in El Salvador agreed to haul the 2-8-0 from San Salvador through Guatemala to the Mexican border.  

The Englishman, however, also issued them a warning regarding No. 36’s seller.

“You’ve got to be careful dealing with these government people.  They’ll tell you one thing and then do something else,” said the IRCA representative.  “If, for some reason, they renege on your deal, let me know and I have a couple of locomotives that I will sell you.”

Appreciative, but still hopeful that No. 36 would work out, the two flew back to Colorado where a dinner was scheduled with prominent Central City residents.  There the Ashbys and their partners intended to announce their in-process plans to acquire an historic 3-foot gauge locomotive, proof they were sure would convince the influential guests to accept their franchise of the new Colorado Central Narrow Gauge Railway (CCNG).  Excitement was in the air, until the air was weighed down by a letter in Spanish received just two days before the dinner.

The letter from the El Salvador Railway, which took a whole day to get translated, taking them to just one day before their dinner, informed the CCNG that the price tag on No. 36 was now slightly higher.  It no longer cost $2500, but $10,000.  After a quick trip to their attorney, the group got in touch with the IRCA gentleman who had warned them of such shenanigans.  His response was, “That’s Central and South America.  That’s how they do business.”

Thankfully, he was not just telling them “I told you so.”  In fact, as promised, he had two 3-foot gauge steamers, outside frame 2-8-0s No’s. 40 and 44, he could sell to them at $5500 a piece.  He would transport them by rail for that price to the Mexican border for the CCNG to figure out transportation from Mexico to Central City.  

This was more money than the CCNG group had bargained for.  However, it would get them two engines for just a bit over the price of the one from the El Salvador Railway, and, they figured, they could raise the necessary money.  Thankfully, they still had a locomotive, and now another, in the works to announce to the dinner crowd the next day.  As a result, they acquired franchises from both Central City and Black Hawk in 1967.  In Lindsey’s words, the man at the IRCA “saved our bacon, so to speak.”

Laying Track

The new railroad, with hopes of opening in 1968, purchased a mile worth of 65 pound rail from the Colorado & Southern Railway.  They had to remove it themselves from what was known as the Black Hollow branch near Fort Collins, Colorado.  Without proper equipment, Lindsey used his Jeep Universal with a front-mounted winch to pull rails.  As each rail length was removed from the ties, he put his Jeep in reverse.  The rail then bounced along the ties until he reached a waiting truck.  The winch was again used to raise each rail length enough to reach the back of the truck.  

While negotiations with railroad officials to purchase track materials were formal in nature, Lindsey found the railroaders themselves abundantly helpful.  Some C&S men told them where soon-to-be-replaced track tools were to be found so the Ashbys and their partners could take them.  They were even told to take railroad ties with the provision that they did so without being seen.  In addition, more narrow gauge-sized ties were acquired from the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad.  

Track laying on the new line began in June of 1968 and, in time, a quarter mile of old C&S roadbed had railroad track once again.

Aug. 20 1968 Jim Ozment photo-Jeff Terry collection

    1921 IRCA engine 44 arrived from its long trip as well.  The engine had been hauled by train through El Salvador, but ran under its own power through Guatemala.  Finally, the engine was transferred to a standard gauge flatcar for the remaining part of the journey to Rollinsville, Colorado where it began its last 18 miles via a low-boy trailer with 3-axles to Central City.  When the engine arrived at its new home, work needed to be done because all copper and brass parts on the engine had been stolen on its way north.  The D&RGW came to their aid again, offering to sell the railroad these missing parts that could not be found elsewhere.  

Rolling stock was to be a full circle for Lindsey when the CCNG was able to buy three open-air cars used on the train he rode at age 15 at the 1948-1949 Chicago Railroad Fair behind C&S engine No. 9.  Built from former D&RGW gondolas, the excursion cars were located at the Black Hills Central tourist railroad in South Dakota until they made their way to Central City.  

By August, excitement for opening day hit the newspapers as the August 25, 1968 Colorado Transcript reported in the article “Old Train Resumes Run in Central City as Attraction” that the “The project is to replace three and 1/3 mile of track and ties; to rebuild four trestles (of which the largest is over 240 feet long and 70 feet high) which were sold for scrap during World War II.”  The article goes on to thank various railroads for their assistance and concludes with this: “The idea of recreating the old narrow gauge would never have taken root without the continual encouragement, cooperation, and assistance of the Mayors and City Councils of Black Hawk and Central City, the Central City Opera Associations, and the citizens of Black Hawk and Central City.”