5 Sections of Relaid C&S Track in Platte Canyon and South Park

Here is a look at 5 places you can find C&S rails relaid on the original roadbed in Platte Canyon and South Park. Since the line was abandoned in 1937 and the rails pulled in 1938, a few spots of relaid rails have sprung up. There are five:

5. A stretch of track underneath two gondolas in Pine Grove. Pine Grove History Park was created on Feburary 11, 2020 to memorialize the former railroad servicing location. The town once sported a tall coaling platform that serviced the line's steam engines. The track is on the original roadbed. The gondolas are former Denver, Rio Grande and Western cars, but are painted to honor the Colorado & Southern and the Denver, South Park & Pacific (the C&S' predecessor).

4. A stretch of track underneath a caboose in Helen McGraw-Tatum Memorial Park in Bailey. The caboose is a standard gauge C&S car resting on standard gauge rails, though they are laid on the original narrow gauge roadbed. Near the caboose is the old C&S Mill Gulch bridge and Glenise Way Station, both moved from their original sites in the canyon. Click here to see a video I made of this unique park.

3. A rebuilt portion of the wye on top of Kenosha Pass. The railroad crested Kenosha Pass to enter into the South Park. Helper engines were required for trains to reach the summit. In order to turn the helper engines around, a wye was constructed. One leg and part of another leg of the wye have been rebuilt, the first stretch being constructed in 1998.

2. A small segment of track underneath a caboose in Jefferson. The first depot in the South Park (westbound) is the town of Jefferson. The depot still stands and can be rented by vacationers. The owners, who also operate the excellent Hungry Moose Caboose restaurant next door, also acquired and refurbished a Burlington Northern caboose as a rental. The track under the caboose, though standard gauge, is on the original narrow gauge roadbed.

1. A lot of track at the old division point of Como. A book could be written about the restoration of this former railroad town. The old stone roundhouse, the depot, and the railroad hotel survived the line's abandonment, but since roughly 2016 the entire complex has been undergoing a rebirth. The turntable and tracks into the roundhouse have been restored, along with several other tracks, including stubs representing the mainline east to Denver, west over Boreas Pass to Leadville, and west to the Alpine Tunnel and Gunnison. My video here is a mixture of footage from 2018 and 2022. Much more has been done since. Check out the South Park Rail Society's page for more info. 

Footage of the C&Sng in the 1930s

I wanted to bring attention to a great video called Excursion to the Thirties which includes a good stretch of C&S narrow gauge film footage.  

I originally posted a clip from a Youtube channel that posted it. Later, I found out that the DVD is still commercially available. In light of this, I removed the video link.

The video is available for purchase at a number of sites including...

Walthers

Railfan Depot

Trainfan Video Depot

In the video you'll see:

Clear Creek segment (1938 and 1939)

Here you'll see...

On August 11th, 1939 C&S 70 working in Idaho Springs.

C&S 69 running light past the Argo Mine

C&S 70 backing with a train of gondolas to Black Hawk

C&S 70 and train returning to Forks Creek

    -you'll see the crew perform a flying switch with caboose 1003

    -keep an eye out for the brakeman when he steps between the caboose and a rapidly approaching boxcar!

C&S 70 and train now eastbound heading for Golden

You'll see C&S 9 and 65 (with one as a midtrain helper) along with caboose 1003 traveling from Golden to Forks Creek on July 19, 1938. C&S 9 is now on display in Breckenridge. 

Leadville Segment (1938)

Here you'll see...

the Leadville depot

the Leadville engine house

C&S 74 switching cars in the Leadville yards on July 6th, 1938 for the Molybdenum mine. The train then heads towards Climax with what appears to be caboose 1009.  C&S engine 74 and caboose 1009 are both now at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.

Boreas Pass Segment (1938)

Here you'll see..

C&S 71, 8 (dead), and 69 leave Breckenridge for Como on an equipment transport prior to abandonment. C&S 71 is now on display in Central City.

    -Watch for two crew members riding the front of 71 apparently keeping an eye on the unmaintained track

C&S 73, westbound, with a scrap train traveling through Webster on July 19, 1938

The train climbing to the top of Kenosha Pass. 

The train running through Kenosha summit. Track has been relaid at the summit near the site of the wye used to turn helpers.

Later in the day, the same train climbs eastbound up out of the South Park with 69 as helper

After reaching Kenosha summit, C&S 69 uncouples and backs up light to Como

Over Kenosha Pass to the great South Park

 This past fall I filmed a drive over Kenosha Pass and down the slope into the South Park.  Comparing my view to some views from during and shortly after the DSP&P/C&S' operation over the pass I was able to match up the mountains and decided to put together a small video of it.

Enjoy!

Kurt

A First Visit to Platte Canon, part 2

This is part 2 of my recent October 2022 visit to a portion of the abandoned Platte Canon route of the Colorado & Southern narrow gauge.  Part 1 can be found here. 

 Webster

The remains of the Webster water tank

Our next stop was the site of Webster, a place where C&S trains, both east and westbound, would stop for water.  We parked in a rutted road on the right which led to a very old cemetery on the hillside.  In the distance, on the left side of 285 are the remains of the Webster water tank.  Only the base is present and a field is in the place where the mainline and the siding large enough for 43 cars once were.  Unfortunately, the supports seem to be on a gated property so we could only snap shots from afar.  I would have loved to get up close to it!  Someone later commented on a forum that he had found the owner friendly to visitors, but we didn't know it at the time.  The beams look quite sturdy for a structure that hasn’t seen a train for over eighty years.  

The westbound tracks used to curve to the right shortly after the water tank.  The railroad then crossed 285 from left to right here.  On the right, the roadbed is now Colorado 60 for part of the way until the railroad made a horseshoe curve back to the highway and began its climb towards Kenosha Pass.  We took a short jaunt up this gravel road for a few minutes and turned back around, surrounded by vibrant aspen leaves.  

Colorado 60, the old C&S grade

Back on 285 the railroad was on the right, higher up on the hillside.  Along this stretch there are some palisade rock walls supporting the grade, but unfortunately, as the driver, I couldn’t see them.  The right-of-way crossed to the left at another spot, near railroad milepost 73, which we could not identify in passing.  

Hoosier

Colorado 58, the old C&S grade

Our next point of interest was where the route crossed 285 from left to right near a siding for nine cars known as Hoosier.  To the right, then, Colorado 58 comes off of 285 and is on the roadbed (though it parallels the road to the right slightly at some point) up Hall Valley until it curves off left at the Dake townsite (where large charcoal kilns once stood to the right of the roadbed) into a balloon loop, crossing the North Fork of the South Platte River, and then travels through a cut and returns parallel but higher again than 285.  

ROW curves left up ahead. Cut is barely visible at left

We drove onto the dirt C 58 road, noticing a moose mud hole on our left that Tom Klinger told us to watch for.  He said you can sometimes see moose there, but it was vacant at our visit.  We kept looking for the turnoff of the roadbed to the left, and I thought I found it.  I precariously took my rental car on a bumpy one-lane dirt track for a little bit.  From my Google Earth maps, I knew the railroad line would keep turning left, which our road did for a little while, but when the road started curving sharply right, I had the inkling we were not on the roadbed.  Later map research revealed that I had missed the ROW and instead was driving on C 811.  Needless to say, we turned around and headed back to 285 to continue the climb up Kenosha Pass. 

Kenosha Pass

Rebuilt main line, curving into stub end of wye to the left. Long ties at right would have been mainline

Finally, we reached the top of Kenosha Pass which was littered on left and right with a multitude of cars.  Visitors flooded the area to take in the fall mountain beauty.  We pulled off to the left and drove between parallel fences to another parking spot at the hiking trailheads.  From there we backtracked on foot to the partially rebuilt Kenosha wye where helper engines once turned after assisting trains up grade.  We started walking on the tracks from what was the stub end of the wye.  The right hand side, eastbound from our walking direction, of the narrow gauge wye is completely rebuilt.  A switch leading west leads to a short several feet of track.  The switch at this point is a stub switch and I got a chance to explain to my daughter how it worked since you can actually turn the switch stand.  Unfortunately, there is no connection to the rail.  

Stub end of wye out of sight to right

Following the longer rebuilt portion to the right (east) there are some longer ties that make it appear that there were (are?) plans for a switch to build more track that would potentially connect both ends of the wye, but the ties remain rail-less for now.  The wye would need to cross the road to the trailheads too, which seems unlikely.  

    A good deal of coal dust trails the tracks.  At several spots there are good historical signs detailing the railroad and the wye.  One sign also pointed out the still-present wetland to the east that shows up in photos from the railroad era.  

The South Park

The great South Park

We hopped back into our Nissan and crested the vista where the South Park explodes into your senses as this sweeping flatland extends gloriously into the distance surrounded by stalwart mountain peaks.  This view makes it very clear why the railroad enshrined the name “South Park” in both its name and advertising.  What a sight!

The grade coming down the pass. Cut in distance

The C&S right-of-way is down below the highway on the mountainside at left.  Tom Klinger told me to look for a right hand pull off for viewing it farther down the mountainside.  I tried the first one, ran across 285, but couldn’t see anything.  We drove down to the next one, about half way down the mountain.  Then my daughter and I rushed across to the left and, sure enough, one could see, looking upgrade and left, the roadbed snaking its way down from the pass.  A cut, while distant, is easily visible upgrade to the left.  As the grade passed in front of us and down the slope to the floor of the South Park, one can make it out, though it is quite faint.  

Jefferson

Jefferson depot, soon to be an Airbnb

We scurried back to our car, drove downgrade, passing where the roadbed crosses to the right of 285, and entered into that great expanse, finally reaching the old, but still living town of Jefferson where the 1880 DSP&P depot still stands right off the highway.  The adjacent Hungry Moose Caboose restaurant, reopened for the first time in three years and under new ownership, was our place to stop for lunch.  The restaurant sits right on top of what would have been the west leg of the Jefferson wye.  

While we weren’t adventurous enough to order “The Trainwreck” sandwich which we were told by the owner was “huge” (In fact, you can buy a T-shirt that says “I survived the Trainwreck”), we indulged on a truly delectable bacon cheeseburger made from beef from a ranch just five miles away.  

BN caboose in primer west of Jefferson depot

While eating, we got to chat with the owner.  He and his wife own both the restaurant and also the depot.  They live in the former depot presently and are in the process of converting it to be an Airbnb rental.  They hope to have it available next spring 2023.  Recently, the couple replaced all the original station windows to make it better insulated.  The old windows are sitting in the yard.  He explained that all the exterior and interior walls are original and the ticket window still exists as well.  As if this hard work wasn’t enough, he acquired a standard gauge Burlington Northern caboose and put it on a short stretch of track on the old roadbed just west of the station and plans to convert it to a two-person Airbnb rental too.  

We asked him what it’s like to live in such a small town.  He remarked that he loved it, loved the quiet, and loved the closeness to nature.  There are 15 residents in Jefferson right now and the Community Center, across the highway next to the historic Jefferson school building with its old-time bell tower, offers a way to connect with neighbors.  Winters, he remarked, are challenging as it is very cold and very windy.  This reminded me of photos and stories I’ve seen of South Park cars being blown off tracks in the area.  It also explained the reason for those odd, wooden vestibules built outside the doors of the Como depot.  The South Park gets serious wind!

Como

Line to Denver at left.  Eating House, depot, & roundhouse in distance

    After our delicious lunch my daughter and I got back on 285 to head west toward Como.  The roadbed is on the right, but it was hard for me to identify it at times, at least while driving.  It looked as if the power line poles that parallel the highway beginning shortly west of Jefferson might be on the ROW.  At one location I caught sight of what once must have been a short trestle over a gully where the bridge posts still stick up from the ground. 

Repainted C&S 8311, formerly on display at Boreas Pass

    Our official last railroad-related stop was Como.  I was last there in 2018 and while it is dramatically changed since that time and I would have loved to explore more of the railroad developments, we just didn’t have much more leeway in time so it had to be a quick visit.  On this Friday, October late morning no one was around, but we got to see the rolling stock outside the roundhouse and depot including C&S boxcars 8311 and 8323, DSP&P boxcar 608, and various other non-C&S equipment.  Mia and I took a walk down the mainline to the end of the right hand line to Denver and then walked to the end of the line to Boreas Pass.  It was fun to note the coal dust resting in the grass in large piles.  

Standing on the mainline to Boreas Pass (which is behind me)

With our last stop behind us, we jumped back in for the remaining trip.  I had hoped to stop at the crossing of the Gunnison main from the right of 285 to the left just a little west of Como.  This left hand ROW is now route 7 that comes off of the highway, but sadly I didn’t have time to photograph it.  One can see the roadbed glide off and away to the left.  

End of the Line

The rebuilt scale house and Boreas Pass in the distance

One more stop I had originally planned was the crossing of the right-of-way at Garos where a wye was located, but I assumed I would see a sign for Garos.  Needless to say, no sign greeted me and I assume the townsite is long gone.

    After a glorious morning of ghost-train chasing, we made the stunning drive down to Canon City, experiencing more fog as we got close.  There we had a great weekend exploring Worldview at the Abbey for the Preview Weekend and opened our hands, in a sense, to ask Jesus to give us insight if this is good place for our daughter after she graduates this coming May.  Admittedly, I'd be happy for an excuse to visit Colorado (and more C&S sites) more often!

The Abbey in Canon City

One of my favorite parts of visiting the areas where the C&S ran is how alive it makes photographs and maps when one can visualize the spot today.  I am so happy, as I sit writing this on our airplane home, that just a few moments ago I did just that.  I opened up Tom and Denise Klinger’s Platte Canon Memories & Then Some and paged through the photos with that wonderful feeling that says, “I was there!”

1975 C&S News (1) - Charles Ryland, Stolen engine bells, Loop bridge studies, 1903 Loop footage

 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 some miscellaneous South Park Line/C&S-related news from the 1975 editions.  

1975

Part 1

January

(Theft! Stolen railroad passes)

ON AUGUST 23 a collection of railroad passes was stolen from the home of member Charles Ryland. Some have appeared in antique shops and through the help of some members and friends a number  have been recovered.  Among those not yet located are an 1879 Colorado Central #679, a Denver Pacific 1870 issued to Casement, several Colorado Midland Indian passes, a Denver, Lakewood & Golden 1899 and many others. Any information about these or others will be appreciated.  A list is available from Charles Ryland at 1914 - 19TH St., GOLDEN, COLORADO 80401. 

(Ed. Charles Ryland, a WWII vet and a former president of the RMRC, was the man who persuaded M.C. Poor to let the Club publish his DSP&P book when the original publisher demanded Poor cut the book in half.  Poor said in 1965, "The silver lining to my dark cloud was none other than Charlie Ryland)

(Theft again! Stolen engine bell)

Unloading Potosi & Rio Verde No. 4 in the early '70s 

CAN YOU HELP?? - On or about December 6th, the bell on Mexican Engine No. 4 at the Colorado Railroad Museum was appropriated by persons unknown. Due to the substantial weight of the bell and the fact that it was welded on, it can be assumed more than one person was involved in this theft. The Colorado Railroad Museum would greatly appreciate any information in regards to recent attempts to sell or otherwise dispose of an engine bell.  The museum is looking for any clues that will help locating the historic piece.  

(Ed. This is the engine, Potosi & Rio Verde No. 4, that was "thrown in the pot" when Bob Richardson of the Colorado Railroad Museum agreed to do the work to get an original Thunder Lake engine from Mexico to a Wisconsin museum.  For all the work, Richardson got DSP&P No. 191 from Wisconsin for CRRM, along with a narrow gauge Mexican engine.  This engine was later sold to the Huckleberry Railroad in Michigan.  See the April edition below for the outcome of the theft)

February

(early filming on the original Georgetown Loop)

"Rivers of Silver, Ribbons of Steel" 

As we were about to print this newsletter, we received confirmation that Mr. William L. Loeffler of Long Island, New York will be here for the February meeting and will present a 25 minute, 16mm sound production covering a 100 year retrospective look at the narrow gauge empire in the Rockies. From color sound track of the Durango-Silverton run back through black and white newsreel footage and animated stills including early filming of the Georgetown Loop.  Mr. Loeffler has prepared a TV production complete with narration.  This should provide a fine climax to the Otto Perry showing. 

March

(Early footage of Kenosha Pass and the Loop presented)

The February program was a double barrel "shot in the arm" for narrow gauge enthusiasts and others who "packed the house" for the double feature presentation. Leading off the program portion of the meeting were scenes from the famous Otto Perry movies including the San Juan at various locations along its rout.  Rocky Mountain Railroad Club excursions including a Rio Grande narrow gauge trip over a dozen cars including the Silver Vista, the South Park at Kenosha Pass, the Pikes Peak  Cog Railway prior to the elimination of steam power and many more views to numerous to mention. 

Following the Otto Perry selection we were privileged to view a showing by Mr. William L. Loeffler of "Rivers of Silver, Ribbons of Steel", a 25 minute 16mm color and sound motion picture production concentrating on the history of the narrow gauge railroads in the west.  The film is designed for showing to viewers in a television audience who are not familiar with mountain railroading.  It is an enjoyable retrospective look at the reason for the narrow gauge form of railroading and the importance it played in the development of the western U.S. including scenes with rare sequences of a Uintah train working up Baxter Pass, a rotary snowplow operation on Cumbres Pass, and a tourist train running over the Georgetown Loop filmed by the Biograph Studio in 1903.  (Ed. You can see this footage here)

Recent films taken of the Silverton train portrayed how it is still possible to ride a train similar to those of years ago that provided the only decent form of transportation into the mountains.  We are indebted to Mr. Loeffler, who produced the film, for arranging his personal schedule so that he could show the film at the meeting.  Mr. Loeffler teaches motion picture production and is involved with educational TV.  He is presently with the Department of Communication Arts of the New York Institute of Technology, Long Island, New York and stopped in Denver for the meeting while on his way to the west coast.  When the use of the Georgetown Loop, Uintah and Cumbres Pass footage for the production of the film was completed, Mr. Loeffler donated it to the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club film library. The sequences are of high quality and were meticulously copied from the original 35mm nitrate film in the Library of Congress.  It was certainly an enjoyable evening for all and we thank Mr. Loeffler for his time and effort in brining “Rivers of Silver, Ribbons of Steel” to Denver for our viewing pleasure.

(Studies underway to reconstruct the Loop High Bridge)

A LITTLE CLOSER EVERY DAY - Preliminary engineering studies are underway for the rebuilding of

The High Bridge

the high bridge on the Georgetown Loop. The bridge will be designed to resemble as closely as possible the original structure. Construction would begin as soon as the required funding can be obtained. 

(Ed. Funding to rebuild the bridge would not become a reality for roughly seven more years-1982-when the Boettcher Foundation gave one million dollars to the project)

April

(DSP&P book reprint in progress)

PROGRESS REPORT ON REPUBLICATION OF DENVER SOUTH PARK & PACIFIC - Ed Haley reports that the work is going "full steam ahead" with the Denver South. Park & Pacific. All 209 photographs included in the original book have been acquired with the exception of five. Of these, three are being replaced by almost exact duplicates, one is being eliminated and will be replaced by a photo more compatible with the text, and one we are still trying to acquire from Life Magazine. We have added 28 more excellent photos to the 209 in the original book and will possibly add four more. 

Four plates required for reproducing one of the paintings in color have been made and proofs are on hand. A second color reproduction is at the engravers now. Negatives for reproduction of photographs in the first third of the book have all been made and proofs received. Negatives for the photos in the second third of the book have been shot and proofs are being made. Photos for the final third of the book are in order and ready to be taken to World Press. World Press has been doing its own camera work and proofs received indicate a remarkable improvement over reproductions in the original book. As of this date there has been no actual printing. The Club has received orders for 1,508 books. Watch for our advertisements in all of the railfan and modelers' magazines. 

(Stolen engine bell found!)

GOOD NEWS - The bell stolen off the Mexican Engine in early December at the Colorado Railroad Museum has been recovered.

June

(First annual rail fan weekend at the Georgetown Loop)

Also in June we are pleased to announce that the State Historical Society and the Georgetown Loop Railroad Company are having their first annual rail fan weekend at Silver Plume, Saturday and Sunday, June 21 and 22, starting at 10:00 A.M. each day. $5.00 per person each day. Steam will be operated. 

(Colorado Rail Annual)

** BOOK REVIEW **

THE SOUTH PARK LINE, A Concise History, by Chappell, Richardson, and Hauck. (Colorado 

Rail Annual No. 12.) 280 pages, illustrated, maps. 

This well-produced volume covers the famous South Park line briefly, but adequately. Gordon S. Chappell

has written the history of the line during its construction period and early years of operation. The period of Union Pacific control and subsequent receivership was prepared by Cornelius W. Hauck, while Robert W. Richardson has covered the Colorado and Southern operations, and the final abandonment. A pictorial section on Alpine Pass includes the famous snowplow trails, and a well-deserved tribute to railroad photographer, Richard B. Jackson, provides additional excellent illustrations. A locomotive roster and some miscellaneous information completes the book, which is highly recommended to anyone interested

in this famous Colorado railroad. The book is available from the Colorado Railroad Museum, Box 10, Golden, Colorado 80401, at $14.75 per copy, postpaid. Colorado residents, please send $15.34, to include sales tax. 

C&S "Gondola freight rail car gets new lease on life"

I found the following article by Patty Unruh from last year that does a nice job telling about the movement and background of the last narrow gauge C&S gondola, no. 4319.

Also, here's a video I posted a little while ago with some of the photos and video of 4319 from 1941 to the present.

C&Sng 1951 in the Narrow Gauge News

This is part 2 of the C&S details found in Bob Richardson's Narrow Gauge News.  Part 1: 1949-1950 is here.  Below are C&S references in his newsletter from the year 1951.  I have underlined some points of particular interest.

January

RGS ENGINE#74 MAY BE PRESERVED
A move is afoot in Boulder, Colo. To obtain RGS engine 74 for preservation int hat city.  #74 had originally been built for the narrow gauge that until 1918 ran from Boulder to some mining communities.  Later it went to the C&S and several years ago to the Rio Grande Southern.

April

BOULDER APPROVES PROJECT TO SAVE RGS #74
Boulder, Colo. City council April 3rd approved the project of J.B. Schooland [sic] to place on permanent display RGS engine #74 which originated from a line operating out of Boulder until 1919.  The RGS seldom uses the engine, having obtained some heavier power.  The council suggested a coach or freight car be obtained, but it is believed none of the DB&W cars exist except for two D&RGW bunk cars, originally Pullmans of the 1880s, later used as coaches on the DB&W.

SOME FINE GLASS NEGATIVES of trains in the 1890s on Marshall and Alpine (DSP&P) passes were saved from greenhouse use near Salida a few months ago.

May

PHIL RONFOR reports luckily locating an 1878 pass of the DSP&P signed by John Evans, and also one of same  year for Colorado Central.  Eastern Division of the Rocky Mount RR Club will meet June 6th at the Ronfor home near Boonton, N.J.

[list of RGS engines]
74 2-8-0 Built 1898, exColo. & N.W. (later Denver, Boulder & Wn.) ex-Colo. & Southern.

From GENERAL NOTES, ROADS, ETC.:--

Turntable pit at w. portal of Alpine Tunnel 1958-Lew Schneider

The South Park’s Alpine Tunnel is a hike from either Hancock or Pitkin, with track intact, tho east entrance flooded by cavein; the grades of the South Park line follow US 285 closely from Bailey via Como and much of rest of line can also be traced, in some places the roadbed has become the road…out of Denver to Georgetown other traces of the C&S are to be found; for that matter one can hardly cross this state without at sometime driving along what was once a railroad grade…C&S engine 71 and combine-Central City; C&S engine 60, and coach at Idaho Springs; C&S caboose at Silver Plume.

From CAR EQUIPMENT OF THE NARROW GAUGES:--
The RGS has some ex-C&S stock cars; also some box and flats apparently no longer used in revenue service.

July

THE “SOUTH PARK” BOOK has become a collector’s item and sales by book dealers at $40 to $50 have been reported!

August

Alpine Tunnel station 1958-Lew Schneider

ALPINE TUNNEL attracts many visitors in summer, one recent Sunday finding three groups hiking
to the long abandoned rail point.  The west portal is still open.

October

 From SUSPENSION OF RIO GRANDE SOUTHERN OPERATIONS EXPECTED NOVEMBER 1ST.
On the north end engine from Ridgway and Placerville and several times for long trains they had ex-C&S #74 as additional helper, but on Sept. 28 the 74 was placed dead in the engine house.

#74 HAULS CLUB SPECIAL
137 members and others rode the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club’s special over the Rio Grande Southern Sept 1 and 2.  Engine 74 handled the train of gondolas, cabooses and business car, laying overnite at Telluride, second day going to Lizard Head.  It was first use of the 74 in months.  A good trip with fine weather.

BALDWIN BRANCH HAD ITS FIRST TRAIN since Feb. when a stock run was made first week of October from Gunnnison. [former C&S line operated at this time by the D&RGW]

November

COLORADO’S NEWEST NARROW GAUGE RAILROAD: THE “MOUNT BLANCA & WESTERN”

D&RGW on C&S 1936-Otto Perry

The 346 was borrowed by the Colorado & Southern in 1936-7 on their Denver-Leadville line, sometimes acting as passenger helper over Boreas Pass.  The engine was involved in a bad accident when it rolled down the mountainside on Kenosha Pass.  On the C&S it was equipped with their peculiar cinder catching device.

THERE WAS A MIXUP of the descriptive matter for Phil Ronfor’s painting of a C&S train gracing the current TRUE cover.  It seems Phil had submitted a sketch of that engine at Woodstock Tank and later realized that portion of the line had been abandoned along with Alpine Tunnel ten years before the cinder catching device was put on C&S engines.  The magazine however desired the engine as drawn, so Phil changed the background to a scene in Clear Creek canyon based on Elk Creek tank, and somehow the magazine struck to the original copy.  So it isn’t his boner, folks!

C&S narrow gauge mileage is growing! Update

* This is an update to a previous post.  On December 30th, 2017, a short section of track was laid at Pine, Colorado.  See below for details.

In the first half of the twentieth century, the years went up, but the mileage of the C&S kept going down.  Minus the Climax to Leadville line, the last narrow gauge C&S-owned rail to be pulled would be from Chatfield to Denver completed by December 1942, leaving the route standard gauged and finally the narrow gauge rails at Union Terminal and the yards at Denver, finished by the 15th of April in 1943.

The big finale, of course, was when the narrow gauge rails were uprooted from the now standard gauged Climax to Leadville route after the final narrow gauge run on August 25th, 1943.  Technically speaking, C&S rails still held on from Gunnison to the Baldwin Mines, albeit under the "new" ownership of the D&RGW, but were eventually gone by the 1950s. 

It struck me, however, that there is more C&S narrow gauge trackage today than over fifty years ago.  The mileage of this lost railroad has actually increased since the mid twentieth century as tourist routes have sprung up and historical displays and re-creations have dotted the Colorado landscape.

I don't have exact amounts in terms of mileage, but I thought it would be curious to recount the number of places that now (or still) sport C&S narrow gauge track.

Original track still in place

Length of Alpine Tunnel

Reconstructed track on original roadbed

Silver Plume to Devil's Gate Viaduct

Wye on Kenosha Pass

Rocky Point on Boreas Pass

Snowplow park, Breckenridge

Como

Alpine Tunnel

Sherrod Curve

Display Parks

Tracks are on or in the vicinity of former C&S roadbed

Boreas Pass

Silver Plume (The caboose is now indoors under restoration, so I'm not sure the status of the track at present)

Central City

Idaho Springs

Pine
On December 30th, 2017 a short stretch of track was built on the old right-of-way to display a narrow gauge gondola in honor of the South Park's heritage in Pine, once the location of a coaling dock.  The car is a D&RGW high side gondola, acquired from Lindsey Ashby.

Shelly Means photo, December 30, 2017

Reconstructed track that was later removed

Central City towards Black Hawk-twice rebuilt and removed

First time

Second time

Georgetown depot 

(I don't recall what is still here.  At one point Central American Railways #44 was displayed on track outside the old Georgetown depot.  I know #44 is gone, but I am not sure if track remains)

And the great news is: the mileage keeps growing!  Especially in Como this year!

References:

Poor, Mac. DSP&P pp. 412-3
Midyette, Jason. "A gondola for Pine." The Bogies and the Loop, January 2018.