The Locos We Lost, Part 3

Another lost loco came to my attention while reading Tom and Denise Klinger's C&S Clear Creek District Memories and Then Some. 

In April of 1941, Central City had won its tussle with the CB&Q to get a display train.  No. 71, a gondola, and a baggage coach had been moved and placed on a short stretch of track near the site of the old depot. 

It seems that Golden got jealous.  The same month that Central City mounted its train, an article in the Jefferson County Republican stated, "Plans were underway this week in Golden, to try to secure an old narrow gauge engine, coach and caboose from the Colorado & Southern, as a historical exhibit."  The author comments that "In the years to come, tourists would regard such an exhibit of considerable interest, and local citizens would likewise value it highly."

Unsurprisingly, considering the trouble the C&S went through to get 71 to Central City, Klinger later points out that "The Golden request for a display train was turned down by the Colorado & Southern Railway."  Based on info found here, I suspect that it was not the C&S but the CB&Q who turned down the request.

Had Golden succeeded, what locomotive would it have been?  With 9, 60, and 71 already assigned, this left only 5 others that had not yet been scrapped.  These were Nos. 69, 70, 74, 75, and 76.  

Several of these locomotives were also still in active service at Leadville, particularly 74, 75, and 76.

69 and 70 wouldn't get sold until 1943 and the rest would be off to other railroads by 1945.  My guess is that 69 and 70 would have been the best candidates for a Golden display as they had run on the Clear Creek line.  As far as I know Nos. 74-76 had only worked the South Park. 

Alas, none of this was meant to be.

The Locos We Lost, Part 2

According to Colorado Rail Annual Number Ten by Cornelius W. Hauck, the C&S made a 1938 inventory of the remaining narrow gauge engines.  Next to No. 6 is the note "Held to be sent to World's Fair, New York. (Due flues 2-40)."

Hauck notes that during a July 7th, 1938 general meeting "the 6 had been set aside for [the World's Fair], but the suggestion was made that the 9 was in better shape and might well be used instead."  As we know, that was in fact done.

It seems No. 6 had one more shot at life when in the same year the C&S offered locomotives for display to towns along its line.  Unfortunately, a note to the Superintendent of Motive Power states, "We now find that none of the towns are agreeable to accepting this engine.  You may therefore scrap engine 6, which will complete the AFE."  She was scrapped in 1939.

Just one year after her scrapping, Central City began its pursuit of a display locomotive, followed by the appeasement of a tax debt to Idaho Springs with another display train.  Alas, No. 6 was lost a year before she could be one of the locos to be considered for either of these towns.

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But that's not the end of the story.  A small part of No. 6 lives on.  According to Jason Midyette's book One Short Season, during work in 2005 to bring No. 9 back to life for a short time on the Georgetown Loop, it was discovered that "ENG 6" was marked on the inside of the lead drivers.  It appears, to my assumption, that in the process of sprucing up No. 9 for the World's Fair, the lead drivers needed replacing and No. 6's were in better condition and thus were swapped. 

Photo of No. 6 from The Pictorial Supplement of the DSP&P

The Locos We Lost, Part 1

I know I should be thankful that we have 5 very well-preserved locomotives of the C&S.  And I am!   Goodness, there are some railroads with no saved engines. 

But one can't help thinking of what might have been.  In my readings and research over the years I've noticed that there were a few other engines that came close to being saved, but for various reasons were lost.  The next few posts will explore these.

The first lost loco did not make it to the C&S era.  In fact, it was a Mason Bogie.  Yes, a Mason Bogie from the South Park was actually preserved!  Unfortunately, how it got saved is a complete mystery.  In fact, which locomotive it was is a mystery as well.

So, here's the story.

According to an article of his in the 1948 Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin, Mac Poor, author of the renowned DSP&P book, was doing some research on locomotives and discovered that there was "an old bogie type engine" on display at Iowa State College since roughly 1905.  He found some info on the engine in a school publication listing the various railroads that had at one time owned this engine.  No mention of the South Park was found there. 

However, upon inspection it was found that "The drive wheel diameters, wheel base, firebox dimensions, gauge and valve gear coincides exactly with the specifications of Mason engines built for the South Park." 

The real giveaway came when the a "D.S.P" was found on the casting of the right hand cylinder.  In addition to this, "Cast in a front wheel truck are the words 'Denver Wheel G.W. Co. Denver, Colo. Jan. 14, 1896 U.P.D.&G.'"

So, what happened to it?  Alas, World War II happened.  According to The Pictorial Supplement to the DSP&P, which has a photo of the loco on display in a somewhat deteriorated condition, the engine was lost to the wartime scrap drive in 1942. 

The caption there reads "The last surviving example of a South Park Mason bogie stood for 37 years on the campus of Iowa State College....Many erroneous and confusing statements were made concerning the history of this locomotive, but there is no doubt that it was a South Park engine."

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Side note: Mac Poor's article was published in 1948, but he makes no mention of the engine being scrapped even though, if The Pictorial Supplement is correct, the locomotive was gone already for six years.

C&S Display Trains: Given or Pulled?

For a long time I have taken it for granted based on several references that when the C&S was in the process of abandoning their Clear Creek line in the early 1940s they offered a locomotive for display to any town along its line.  The story was that initially no one took them up on the offer until Central City changed its mind and then Idaho Springs followed suit.  Silver Plume came a little later after this with acquiring a caboose.

However, after reading Daniel W. Edward's most recent A Documentary History of the South Park Line: Vol. 6: Abandonment of the Leadville Line, I have come to the conclusion that this narrative is simplistic at best.

Edward's has a chapter devoted to letters sent between several individuals.  For simplicity's sake it is largely a correspondence between C&S officials and CB&Q officials.  Basically, it shows a tussle over the town of Central City's desire to acquire a display train for their town.  The C&S is supportive and requests permission from the Q who repeatedly tries to turn down the offer.  The Burlington folks keep putting off the C&S folks' request by stating that the C&S is headed toward bankruptcy and cannot afford to give away any of its assets, including locomotives destined for the scrapper.

This back and forth haggling goes on for roughly 7 months from August 1940 to March 1941 until the CB&Q finally relents and allows engine 71 and a combine to be loaned...not donated, loaned.  Somehow or other the gondola gets included, though the Q tried to get out of that too, and full ownership of the display train is eventually transferred to the Central City Opera Association.

So, what about No. 60 and coach 70 at Idaho Springs?  Wasn't that a benevolent donation from the railroad?  Nope.  The further I looked into that situation, I found out that the train was given to the town to the town to satisfy a claim by Idaho Springs that the C&S had not paid a tax debt.  Thus, the donation of the train settled that financial squabble.

The story of how caboose 1006 made it to Silver Plume is a bit murkier.  Based on some research you can see on a previous series of posts, the town seems to have pursued this and had to pick up the caboose themselves.

The story that the C&S offered display trains to towns along their route and happily obliged seems now incorrect.  However, I have a theory.  I surmise that the C&S did make a benevolent offer to the towns in 1938, but no one accepted the offer.  This idea is based on the book Narrow Gauge to Central and Silver Plume when it details a meeting that was held to determine the disposition of all the narrow gauge equipment as abandonment was progressing.  Besides No. 9 that was sent to the World's Fair, the Superintendant of Motive Power mentions in a memo that "one [engine was held] up anticipating that we could use the engine for historical purposes.  We now find that none of the towns are agreeable to accepting this engine."

It wasn't until 1940 that Central City, in anticipation of developing the historical nature of the town, came to the idea of acquiring a display train.  At this point, it seems the financial situation had worsened and management, at least of the parent CB&Q, was not feeling particularly benevolent.

In summary, the C&S made an offer of a display train to Clear Creek towns in 1938, but there were no takers.  The process of acquiring No. 71 and train for Central City began in 1940 and was initiated by the town (though credit goes to C&S management for pushing the Q to make it happen).  No. 60 and her coach were given to Idaho Springs as a means to pay a tax debt.  And, finally, Silver Plume, like Central City, seems to have pursued a caboose by their own initiative.

As you can see, I'm putting pieces together, so I'm very open to alternate explanations.  If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear!



Photos
No. 71 and train
No. 60
1006: Otto Perry, 1941

C&S No.9 at Heritage Park

Just enjoyed this beautiful night shot of C&S No. 9 at Heritage Park in Breckenridge.  

http://breckheritage.com/rotary-snowplow-park/