About the Author
Ever since I discovered the Colorado narrow gauge, and in particular, the Colorado & Southern narrow gauge (C&Sng), I found myself fascinated, not only with its operational days, but with the surprising restorations of the line's relics that defied the odds. These relics should have been scrapped. Often I could not find the stories of how these items were saved or restored. Over many years, as I picked up facts here and there through references in books, online forums, and interviews with the people who forged the trail of restoration, I began to collect these often curious tales of how people took surprising risks to save pieces of Colorado & Southern Railway history. This book is my attempt to share these many forgotten or unknown stories. In addition to the book you can find more of my findings on my
YouTube channel and my
blog.
A sneak peek of each chapter
Denver
1. How an average guy from Chicago spent 10 years writing a book on the history of the C&S Ry, only to have his publisher tell him to cut it in half. Thanks to his refusal, his book became the catalyst that sparked fascination in thousands about this little mountain railroad.
Boulder
2. The story of two men. One man convinced the executive of a dying railroad to buy a locomotive surely destined for the scrapper. The other was a college professor who personally riled up his hometown with a campaign to rescue that locomotive a second time for a display in Boulder. Of course, one can’t forget a vandal’s explosion that blew up part of the display.
Equipment: C&S/RGS engine 74
Golden
3. Learn the background of how Ohio native and motel owner Bob Richardson founded what would later become the Colorado Railroad Museum. Hear how he acquired the largest collection of C&S Ry. equipment in one place in the world. The stories behind each piece are told. The most epic of these tales includes Richardson’s acquisition of the oldest locomotive in Colorado which took him all the way to Mexico and Wisconsin to bring her home.
Equipment: DSP&P engine 191, Stock Car 7064, Boxcars 8308/8310, Refrigerator Cars 1113/1116, Caboose 1009, Rotary Snowplow 99201
Central City
4. Few towns can claim to have a railroad built and abandoned three times. The elegant yet rough and tumble town of Central City has that claim. They also lay claim to an epic fight with railroad management to get a display train and a later town roadblock to keep that train from being taken. The stories of the two operational restorations in this town include the history of the man and wife team who risked their home to build one of the earliest reconstructed tourist railroads in the state. The surprising and short-lived resuscitation of the entire display train is also covered.
Equipment: C&S engine 71, Gondola 4319, Combination Coach 20
Idaho Springs
5. The display train in the mining hamlet of Idaho Springs, while often thought of a gift from the railroad, was actually acquired through a successful threat. Getting the train to town before the railroad was torn up included a debacle involving the man in charge of the scrapping who suffered both a derailment and a dismissal from his job.
Equipment: C&S 60, Coach 70
Georgetown
6. The story of how the successful Georgetown Loop tourist railroad came to life and the men and women behind it starts with vague dreams. It goes on to the move to resist a highway construction that would have obliterated the railroad’s remains and the humorous haggling that was needed to secure materials and funding to not only rebuild miles of mountain railroad but also reconstruct the enormous 95-foot-high viaduct.
Silver Plume
7. The diminutive end-of-the-line town of Silver Plume was tardy in asking for a relic from the railroad. The tracks were already gone. Under a time crunch and a money short-fall a mysterious individual stepped up to help save the only intact C&S Ry. caboose still in existence. The town would later become home to three pieces of historic passenger equipment as well.
Equipment: Caboose 1006, Railway Post Office 13, Coach 76, Business Car 911
