1974 C&S News (2) - The Loop electrified? Plans to build to Blackhawk, Platte river bridge moved, C&S 20 on TV

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 2

January

(Rumor: The Georgetown Loop will be electrified!)

Norwegian electric narrow gauge

JUST OVER A FEW MOUNTAINS to the southwest on that same day activity was beginning to pick up on the Georgetown Loop restoration project. Navy Reserve Seebees were fulfilling their once a month duty obligation preparing the site for this summer’s work. Another weekend visit by them in May will be followed by a six week stay beginning in June. Much work still remains to be done, including finishing touches on the two bridges, tracklaying, and setting the station at Silver Flume on a foundation. It is hoped to have some revenue operations underway by late summer. There is one rumor about the loop that needs to be squelched, a rumor reportedly to be circulating particularly among its fans. It is absolutely untrue that a test section of a quarter mile of electric overhead is being installed from Silver Plume down toward the first big curve to study the feasibility of electrifying the historic line. 

June

(Finally, Poor's DSP&P gets a reprint!)

RAILROAD CLUB TO REPRINT "SOUTH PARK" BOOK - At the last meeting of the officers and

directors of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, it was decided to reprint M. C. Poor's famous history, "Denver, South Park & Pacific." This will provide the Club's contribution to the Colorado Centennial in 1976, and will also be a memorial to the late M. C. Poor, a long-time Club member. All the original text will be included, and it is expected that practically all the original pictures will be used, although new plates are to be made of the photographs, and if a few of the originals cannot be located, comparable illustrations will be provided. 

While it is planned to reprint the book in 1976, no other Rocky Mountain Railroad Club books are to be reprinted, according to present plans. At present, a price has not been established, and we request that no money be sent to the club for this book until a descriptive brochure is received, at which time a prepublication special price will be announced. The reprint edition will not be numbered, and it is uncertain at this time as to the quantity that will be published. 

(Ed. Just five years previously, the Club explained why they would not do a reprint of the book.  Mac Poor himself also agreed.  After Poor's passing in 1973, it seems openness to the idea emerged)

(Shay 14 in action at Central City)

THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG - The Shay locomotive that arrived In Central City at the end of April is already hard at work pulling trains on the Colorado Central. 

(Ed. The shay arrived in April of 1974)

July

(8mm movies of C&Sng)

PROGRAM NOTES: The club is privileged to present, through the courtesy of James R. Jackson and Al Chione, a program for the July meeting which will consist of some very old and rare 8mm movies of Colorado railroading.

These excellent movies were taken between 1937 and 1941 by Jim Jackson’s father, Richard B. Jackson, a Rocky Mountain Railroad Club member until his death in 1971, and one of the noted railroad photographers who recorded Colorado engines and trains before World War II. Included are Denver & Rio Grande Western operations on the Silverton Branch, the Cumbres Pass, Marshall Pass, and Black Canyon lines and the Santa Fe Branch. There are also some views of Rio Grande Southern trains operating over that spectacular line and some extremely rare Colorado & Southern narrow gauge scenes at Leadville, on Boreas Pass, and in Clear Creek Canyon.  If you liked Otto Perry’s fascinating films last month, which speak for themselves, or if you missed them, here is another opportunity to see some fine Colorado railroad photography of years gone by. 

(New diesel and cars arrive at the Georgetown Loop)

1984 photo of No. 15 

RESTORATION WORK ON THE GEORGETOWN LOOP is now in full swing since the arrival of the Seebees in mid-June. Before their departure in early August it is hoped that track laying up into Silver Plume will be completed and that the depot there will be on a foundation. More equipment for the operation has been received. The last weekend in June saw the arrival of ex-Oahu Railway No. 15 diesel switcher from California. Formerly of the Camino, Cable & Northern, the engine is a sister to the diesel unit used on the CATS line and will be used in the construction phase of the loop. Also just received is an ex-Camino, Cable & Northern ex-Lake Tahoe and Railway & Transportation Company narrow gauge coach and an excursion car from the Colorado Central. 

(Plans to lay track toward Blackhawk; TV show filmed on the Colorado Central)

C&S No. 20 in 1990

CENTRAL CITY RAIL ACTIVITIES - The Shay locomotive at Central City has been in charge of passenger operations since its arrival in April. With the acquisition of that engine, it is hoped tracklaying can continue down toward Blackhawk. The track presently stops at the sight of a trestle whose cost of replacement is too prohibitive for the line. Track can now be layed (sic) around the end of the gulch in a curve that the Shay, unlike the other conventional locos on the CC, will have no trouble negotiating. 

Central City and the Colorado Central were recently involved in the filming of a TV show to be seen later this summer. Production crews, along with stars Charlie Rich, Ann Murray and the "Chicago” Rock Group spent June 26th filming scenes around town and on the train. The Shay and C&S combine No. 20 were the railroad stars. The engine was operated by George Claymore, a retired veteran of 51 years service with the Rock Island and currently an engineer on the CC. Tentative broadcast of the one hour special is August 16th on ABC. 

(Ed. C&S combine No. 20 was placed on display in 1941 along with C&S engine 71 and C&S gondola 4319)

August

(DSP&P reprint update)

“SOUTH PARK" BOOK WORK PROGRESSING - Material to be used in the brochure that will announce the republishing of the original "Denver, South Park & Pacific" by Mac Poor was turned over to the printer on August 1st. World Press will begin work on that immediately. 

(Ballast train on the Georgetown Loop)

THE BALLAST TRAIN has completed work on the Georgetown Loop. Tamping and aligning the track is currently being done, The Seebees departed the last week in July.

December

(More DSP&P reprint updates)

This year the Club has embarked on republishing the DENVER, SOUTH PARK AND PACIFIC, a memorial edition to Mr, Mac Poor. This will keep the Club busy in the coming year. The response of reprinting it has been great, with very little on the negative side. This reprinting will enable a lot of younger railfans and other people who never had an opportunity to own the original to obtain one and read of the early days of railroading in Colorado.

ORDERS FOR THE DENVER, SOUTH PARK AND PACIFIC reprint have been arriving at a steady rate. We thank you for this support.  It is most gratifying and will assist measurably in meeting the initial expenses involved. 

A point we would like to clarify, which was not mentioned in the brochure mailed with last month’s newsletter, but was mentioned briefly in the June 1974 Rail Report, is that the reprint will not be numbered. 

Volunteer workers have put in over five hundred hours mailing 4,250 brochures announcing the republication of DENVER, SOUTH PARK & PACIFIC.  These are in addition to the brochures already mailed to the Club members. Our thanks to Jack and Kay Riley, John and Elsie Ingles, Pee Wee Smith, Dick Kindig, Cleta Poor (who also graciously allowed us to use her basement) and Wan and Ed Haley, Thanks also to Bill and Sylvia Gordon who mailed brochures to the people on the Club’s trip list. 

 

Palisade Repair Progress

Recently on the DSP&P forum, Justin Kerns, who has been an important part of the move to repair the Palisades, west of Alpine Tunnel, described the current work.

Below are some excerpts from his comments: 

The Palisade repair is scheduled to be completed during summer of 2024 with the heavy work happening next summer. This summer rock scaling is being done so there will be weekday closures of the road below Woodstock. Sherrod Loop will not be accessible during these closures nor will you be able to hike from there to the west portal.  Weekends will be fine, however. 

I asked him to explain "rock scaling."

They will be taking down all loose and semi-loose rocks from above the Palisades down to the old wagon road below the wall. This will be done along that whole stretch as it is prone to rockfall. It is being done to increase safety for the construction during the rebuilding of the Palisade Wall, as well as the safety of hikers/drivers along the grade. The wagon road below the grade is also being improved enough to support movement of heavy equipment to the base of the wall. This will be necessary next summer. Although the wagon road above the grade has been in use as Wiliams Pass since the railroad days, the road below was abandoned long ago and is in need of some improvement to support the repair work. The scaling work is being done on weekdays only and is expected to be completed by 7/8. 

Next summer (2023) the heavy work will commence. The wall will be taken down further in order to be rebuilt properly in its original form. There is an outside chance this will be completed next summer (2023) but most likely will spill into summer 2024. It all depends on the weather.

I know it's a long time in coming, but I am so grateful that good, long-term-minded, work is being done to repair this incredible historical site, and making the road to the west portal open once again.

For a more complete look at the plans for the repairs, including diagrams, and more, see this post from 2021.

Below is a video I took when our family visited the Palisades in 2018.  At roughly 4:50 you can see the damage to the rock wall.

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

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 C&S News 2 - Veteran South Park railroaders visit Alpine Tunnel, early work on the Georgetown Loop

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 1973 editions.  (Here is a post with other 1973 C&Sng news)

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

1973 C&S News - M.C. Poor passes, High Country RR is born, DSP&P 191 returns to CO

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 1973 editions.  No C&S-related info showed up in the 1972 editions

1973

May

(Mac Poor's Passing)

MEMBERS OF THE RMRRC will be saddened to hear of the passing of Mac Poor, one of Colorado's
foremost railroad historians, and the author of one of the most famous railroad histories ever published, "DENVER, SOUTH PARK & PACIFIC” (1949), He died Tuesday, April 17, 1973 at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, after a short illness. 

Mr. Poor was a long time member of the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club, and was well liked by all those who knew him, either personally, or as a fellow railfan and history buff.  He was also a member of the Denver Posse of the Westerners, the Colorado Consistory A & A S R, the Union Lodge #1 of the Odd Fellows, and was active in the Highlands Methodist Church. 

Poor holding up the result of his 10 year journey

Born in Caledonia, Washington County, Missouri, on June 28, 1901, Mr. Poor lived in Chicago for many years, retiring in Texas in 1950, and moving to Denver in 1952. 

His interest in the South Park Railroad began with visits to Colorado in the early 1930's.  In 1938, he began gathering material for a complete history of the famous branch of the Colorado & Southern Railway.  Ten years of devoted work went into the compilation and preparation of this material and his book was published by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club in 1949.  It has since become one of the most sought after railroad books in the World. 

In 1959, he co-authored “PICTORIAL SUPPLEMENT TO DENVER, SOUTH PARK & PACIFIC”, and had previously written short histories of the Denver, Boulder & Western Railroad and the Argentine Central Railway. 

He was buried in Bonham, Texas. Mr, Poor is survived by his wife, Cleta, and a brother, George L. Poor of Sunnyvale, California.  A Mac Poor Memorial Fund has been established at the Highlands United Methodist Church, West 32nd Avenue and Osceola St, Denver, Colorado 80212, 

April

(High Country Railroad is Born)

HIGH COUNTRY RAILROAD at Heritage Square, Colorado's newest railroad, a 24" gauge, 1 ½ mile scenic tourist line, is the result of the efforts of 5 Rocky Mountain Railroad Club members. Stuart Anderson. Jim Ehernberger, Ed Gerlits, Dave Gross, Dan Peterson and non-member Jim Karins. 

Three years ago, they acquired 2 German built 0-4-0's and during the course of time completely overhauled one of the locos to an extent she never enjoyed before. Resplendent in 11 coats of orange and black automotive enamels, with new electric headlight, flues, steam fittings, lubricators. etc., the group invited the RMRRC members to share in their enthusiasm of operating for the first time over a short piece of track on the Anderson Farm near Boulder. 

The group subsequently faced the problem of what to do with a completely overhauled locomotive. Does one just play with her or put her to work in come capacity? The group chose to formally incorporate and find a place to operate. Soon they emerged with a lease from the Woodmoor Corporation, tore up the old 3' gauge of the former Magic Mountain RR, graded and relaid the track to 2’ gauge. Two new excursion cars were commissioned and built by the Great Western Ry in Loveland, Colorado, a private car was acquired and shipped from Indiana, air brakes applied to the cars and by October 1, 1972, the High Country RR was in full operation. 

The line, complete with high fills, deep cuts, trestle, show shed and whistle echo's winds around the foothills, around Lake Heritage and back through the woods on its return to the station. The line overlooks Golden and Denver and has beautiful scenic vistas. 

Heritage Square can be reached by traveling West on 6th avenue to U.S, 40, then West on U.S. 40, ¾ mile to the entrance. The railroad will be operating daily service from May 1, 1973 to October 31, 1973. The fare is $1.00 for adults and $0.50 for children and under 5 free. The address is: High Country Railroad, P.O. Box 404, Heritage Square Station, Golden, Colorado 80401 

(The High Country Railroad is not directly C&S-related, but is listed here because the previous them park railroad at Magic Mountain, which later became Heritage Square, included the use of two ex-C&S cars refrigerator car 1116 and boxcar 8308.  Both were converted to rider cars.  There was a brief hope that the original Magic Mountain train was to run again, but the 2-foot gauge High Country Railroad was built instead. -Ed.)

(DSP&P 191 Returns to Colorado!)

How 191 will look decades after her return

THUNDER LAKE LUMBER CO. (Rhinelander, Wisc.) No. 7 Ex DSP&P No. 51 narrow gauge 2-8-0 has been obtained by the Colorado Railroad Museum and is now on display at Golden, Colo. The Museum negotiated a trade whereby obtained an Ex Thunder Lake Lumber Co. engine built in 1925 from the Ferrocarril Mineral de Chihuahua and traded it to the logging museum in Rhinelander for the Ex South Park locomotive. 

(This post tells about the day of her arrival.)

C&Sng Dumont depot to restored!

Thankfully, the former C&S narrow gauge depot in Dumont survived the abandonment of the Clear Creek line.  Dumont was a station stop between Idaho Springs and Georgetown.  The line west of Idaho Springs was abandoned in 1939 along with the Georgetown Loop.  The Dumont depot remained after this.  Here is a photo of the station building in 1948, nine years after abandonment.  

The DSP&P Historical Society visited the depot in 2001 and posted the following info and photo:

"The Colorado Central depot at Dumont is still in existence.  It was in use as a private residence in 2001 and the owners were kind enough to invite DSP&PHS members inside for a tour."  Here is the link.

You can find another photo of the depot here.

The Good News

Recently, in the April 2022 edition of The Bogies and the Loop, newsletter of the DSP&P Historical Society, they announced the following: 

"Jim Jordan and the gang over at the Rocky Mountain Railroad Heritage Society have announced that they are purchasing the Dumont depot and ultimately plan to restore it."

On the Rocky Mountain Railroad Heritage site here, they posted the following details:

 "The Agreement to purchase the Dumont Depot is signed! Deep and sincere thanks to Linda Cohn who negotiated the contract with owner Ryan Berwick's attorney. We are grateful to Ryan for realizing the significance of saving the depot and working with the RMRHS to make the purchase possible."

It will be exciting to see if this former C&S depot can be another historical exhibit to preserve the memory of the Clear Creek line and be available to the public.

1970-1971 C&S News - Fighting Snow at Central City, RGS 42 and C&S cars to ride again!...or not

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 1970-1971 editions. 

1970

October

Fighting Snow at Central City

CLUB DAY SCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 11, 1970 AT CENTRAL CITY on the Colorado Central Narrow Gauge Railway. Providing that the weather co-operates the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club will again spend a Fall Sunday riding back and forth on the Central City narrow gauge. This will be an unlimited ride ticket available at only twice the price of regular fares. Come one, come all, it will be a day of lots of steam and fun. Should the weather not permit, this trip could be cancelled without notice, as last year it required shoveling of snow in order to operate - - - this year the railroad advises they will not attempt to "dig” out the line, but normal operations should continue on into October anyhow. Come along and bring your cameras and recorders. 

1971

June

Magic Mountain Train to Run Again (or...not) 

EX RGS 42 - It is reported that Ex RGS No. 42 is back at the Magic Mountain Site, having been brought back from its storage site at Monument, Colo, by the Woodmoor Corp, who bought it in 1969.  Woodmoor is transforming the old Magic Mountain site into a commercial center that opens May 31. No. 42 is to pull a train on 1 ½ miles of narrow gauge track through a replica of a western town. (Sadly, the plan for the train did not happen.  See below)

---------------------------------------------------

What Was Magic Mountain?

Here is a bit of background to the above note about Magic Mountain.  It will also explain why a note on a Rio Grande Southern engine relates to C&S news.  The excerpt below is from a series of articles I wrote exploring the C&Sng equipment saved by the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden.

The Colo. RR Museum and Disneyland

At the same time that Bob Richardson and Cornelius Hauck were struggling to move and build their new museum (moved from Alamosa to Golden), another venture was rising from the ground in the town of Golden.  When the now-world-famous Disneyland theme park opened in California in 1955, many claimed it would fail, but it bucked all expectations and became an enormous success, which in turn directly spurred numerous copycat theme parks, the very first of which was being built in the late ‘50s right in Golden at the very same time as the Colorado Railroad Museum’s start. This new park, dubbed Magic Mountain, eagerly sought to mimic Disneyland’s old-time narrow gauge train, and naturally looked to Bob and Cornelius for some rolling stock.  

In 1959, in a heartbreaking but financially prudent move to raise money for the fledgling museum’s new building, the museum sold two of its C&S cars, refrigerator 1116 and boxcar 8308*, to Magic Mountain along with RGS engine 42 and RGS caboose 0409 for use as a tourist-hauling park train.

The pocket book was tight and unfortunately these pieces of C&S lore filled the needy coffers.  Still,

RGS 42 and possibly one of the 2 C&S cars-1959

Bob appreciated that the cars were given a chance to do what they were designed to do: haul cargo on steel rails, albeit human cargo this time.  To do this, though, unlike the RGS engine, the cars lost most of their historic appearance and design in the process of being turned into smaltzy open-air theme park pieces. Much of the two cars’ half-century old character was destroyed as everything but their frames and running gear were ripped out and discarded, only to be replaced by seats and rider car shells. 

To add insult to injury, the future prospects of the two C&S cars quickly deteriorated.  Less than a year after the hopeful grand opening of Magic Mountain, the Disneyland-copycat declared bankruptcy and closed its doors. The park’s train was then put out to pasture as a display at the Magic Mountain site.  

New Hope?

News turned hopeful again for C&S reefer 1116 and boxcar 8308 when the Woodmoor Corporation purchased the former Magic Mountain site, including the train, in hopes of reviving the spot somehow.  Initially, in 1969, nearly a decade after their last use, Woodmoor moved the train and displayed it at the corporation’s headquarters in Monument, near Colorado Springs.

The news got better, or worse, depending on one’s perspective in 1971, when the Woodmoor Corp. officially reopened the former Magic Mountain site in a new form as a themed shopping area named Heritage Square.  The good news was that the train was moved back to Golden.  The bad news was that the train was not to run but was instead converted, along with the former Magic Mountain Railroad depot, into a stationary dining area with both C&S 1116 and 8308 having their open rider car sides enclosed to serve as parts of the restaurant. 

C&S 8308 at CRRM in its unfinished rider car form

Today 

        Both cars were later purchased by the Georgetown Loop Railroad and 1116 is still used there as an
excursion car.  8308 resides at the Colorado Railroad Museum once again and is in the process of being combined with another C&S car lacking its frame.  The two are to be combined into one complete C&Sng boxcar.

*Based on research by Al Pomeroy, there is evidence that the underframe of what is usually regarded as C&S 8308 is actually C&S 8256.  Since most of the literature on the car uses the 8308 number I have kept it in this text.