Opening Day Coverage

Friday of this Memorial Day weekend was the day for newspaper ads and articles for the mountains "second season" of summer, the first being winter and skiing. Not surprisingly, the news outlets cover mountain recreation and one of the best family activities is riding a scenic mountain railroad.

The New Mexico Business Weekly covered the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic, although it's not clear what "four new locomotives" are referred to in the article. All research results point to the same roster as last year. I did find a new tamper sitting in Antonito on slim rails in April 2007.

The Associated Press put out an article on Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad workers training in wildfire prevention.

More interestingly, the Denver Post encourages everyone to ride the train in Georgetown when, just the day before, they told us that the railroad will not open until June 15th. This oversight obviously reveals that one article was written before the other one, yet in an industry that seldom has urgent, breaking news, questions continue to circulate on the internet regarding the lateness of the announcement that they will not be open this weekend.

Finally, what didn't make the news is that the San Luis & Rio Grande, better known as the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad, has opened for the first time with live steam over the standard gauge line. It marks the first time in over 50 years that standard gauge steam has run in the San Luis Valley. It will run between La Veta and Alamosa pulling the San Luis Express.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend everyone! Remember our armed forces and the work they continue to do to keep us safe.

Georgetown Loop Delays Opening By Three Weeks

It's Memorial Day weekend, the traditional opening of the summer tourism season and one critical player is in critical condition. The Georgetown Loop Railroad is silent this Memorial Day 2007, a victim of its own management. Not even a diesel will be running. Why? How could this happen?

The origins of the current equipment troubles originate in 2004, but the property's owner, the Colorado Historical Society, bears at least some of the blame for the present condition. Wanting a veritable star on its rails, the CHS restored Colorado & Southern engine 9 to working order and ran it last season to the thrill of narrow gauge fans. Yet, No. 9 was forced to haul shortened trains alone on the steep grades. This contributed to premature wear and tear, sidelining the engine for most of this 2007 season. The Loop's other steam engine, No. 12, was expected near the start of the season, yet it was clear it would miss the opener due to repairs and weather delays. Back-up engine 1203, a diesel, is at Sumpter Valley and will not be back until mid-June either. What is left is lowly engine 21, a diesel kept in the shops as a rescue engine. Someone apparently thought it would be acceptable to use it as a service engine to make it through the first three weeks. Sadly, this engine has been deemed less than reliable for such use. Now the citizens of Georgetown find theirselves at opening day without an engine.

One can't help but recall that steaming narrow gauge engines are a short distance down Clear Creek in Golden, where engines that are the property of the Georgetown Loop Railroad, Inc. are stored on the grounds of the Colorado Railroad Museum. More than capable, these engines have proven themselves on the very tracks that will lay silent this weekend. These engines and their rolling stock are the victims of a failed relationship between a former long-time operator and the state historical society. The belief in 2004 was that with enough capital and the right partner, the state historical society could have a successful go at the railroad. After looking at the breakdowns and other problems encountered since then, one can only guess at the wisdom today.

The real victims are the ones in Clear Creek county who depend on income paid by tourists from far and near, tourists who won't be coming this weekend or the next. After that, who can say? Engine 12 may be operational by then, but no amount of money will bring back lost time and lost wages. Clearly, the 2004 gamble by the Colorado Historical Society has not paid off for the citizens of Clear Creek county.

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Media Coverage:

• CBS 4 Denver - Georgetown Loop Railroad Delays Season Opening
• KUSA 9news.com - Georgetown Loop to miss Memorial Day weekend business
• Clear Creek Courant - Loop loses steam heading into big weekend; opening delayed
  

California Zephyr Bomb Scare

Media outlets are reporting that yesterday's eastbound Calfornia Zephyr (train #6) was evacuated after a passenger threatened the crew by saying he had a weapon and a bomb. Authorities searched the man and found a knife in his luggage. A bomb-sniffing dog alerted to the bag of the passenger and around 220 passengers were ordered to evacuate the train. They were bused to Denver Union Station where they eventually rejoined the same train and continued their trip to Chicago.

FBI officials are now stating that after extensive questioning of the man, it was all a misunderstanding and he was booked on a flight out of DIA today.

I don't know who should be ticked off more, the guy who was "detained and interrogated" for hours or the 220 passengers who were massively inconvenienced. The CZ has encountered more than it's share of delays lately courtesy of both BNSF and UP, but leaving at 4:45 a.m., over 9 hours 20 minutes behind schedule is probably a record, at least for the last week. I have ridden the Zephyr and every time it is at least 4 hours late into Denver from the west (UP territory) and 2 hours late coming in from the east (BNSF territory). This turns their schedule from a somewhat reliable estimate to an absolute joke. If you take Amtrak, you're not in a hurry, but you should at least be able to tell the party picking you up what day you'll arrive.

Could it get any worse?

RTD West Light Rail Construction Begins Mid-May

The first construction phase of FasTracks, RTD's Light Rail & Commuter Rail expansion plan is scheduled to start mid-May. A ceremony is scheduled to start May 16th at 1 p.m. at Quail and 13th Street where they expect to begin removing the existing rails from the right-of-way.

The Denver, Lakewood & Golden originally laid down rails as their main line between the Platte River and the town of Golden in 1891 with the last spike being driven in Golden at the corner of Washington and Third Streets on September 7, 1891. In 1904, the Denver, Lakewood & Golden became the Denver & Intermountain, an interurban line, and in 1909, overhead catenary wires were installed to permit the use of electric locomotives and self-propelled passenger cars (trolleys).

In 1953, the line was abandoned, but the Denver to Simms Street portion was sold to Associated Railroads, a corporation owned equally by the Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe, Chicago Burlington & Quincy, Chicago Rock Island & Pacific, Colorado & Southern and the Denver & Rio Grande Western. This was to service the Denver Federal Center, formerly the federally-owned Denver Ordinance Plant created in 1940 and operated by Remington during World War II to manufacture .30 caliber rounds and then added the capacity to make artillery shells. After the war, the Federal Government retooled the site for office space, becoming the Federal Center and the largest concentration of Federal employees outside of Washington DC.

Over the years, traffic on the line dwindled and the Rio Grande was handling all traffic. Interestingly, a catenary pole was mounted on a diesel switcher solely to activate the signals for grade crossings. Eventually by the mid-1990s, a century after the rails were laid, the line lay dormant, with the grade crossings mostly paved over and crossing signals removed. The right of way still existed, however, and RTD acquired it under their new FasTracks program.

The goal of the West Corridor, as the line is now called, is to reduce congestion along Colfax Avenue, two blocks to the north. The line will navigate past the existing end-of-track near Simms on a new extension past Red Rocks Community College to the Taj Mahal-like Jefferson County Administration and Courts Facility.

On a personal note, having grown up in the area and only seeing one or two trains on the line my entire lifetime, seeing the line in use for a very practical and helpful purpose will be very gratifying. It's still a question, however, how the north-south arteries like Sheridan, Wadsworth and Kipling will handle the double trouble between Colfax and the new traffic on the line.

Work With History at the Colorado Railroad Museum

As many tourist and scenic railroads begin to shake off the last bits of winter, the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden has plenty of work for those who want to contribute as they can to preserving the railroad history gathered there. Please look over the list below, and call or email David Williams, volunteer coordinator, to sign up for the tasks and times that work best for you. (720) 274-5147 david@crrm.org.

Note that many of the jobs can be done any day of the week, not just weekends. Let us know when you are available.

Upcoming Events

The grounds and equipment should be made really spiffy for the spring season.

• General grounds clean-up. Raking, picking up leaves and trash, etc.
• General museum clean up, including washing windows.
• Clean interiors of cars and cabooses.
• Move a pile of iron to the back of the property.

Urgent Tasks and Projects:

• Wax and buff the Coors switcher and the Rio Grande 5771 diesel-electric. (These projects will take many hours over several days, but we need people to start right away.)
• Move boxes of store inventory to another storeroom.
• Dig hole and install new fence post in cement base.
  

Ongoing Tasks and Projects

• Remove boxes stored in a passenger car, and clean it out.
  
• Library:
• General cataloging
• Inventory boxes of materials to be sure they are posted on the computer files.


• Roundhouse:
  
• Skilled woodworker to rebuild a cowcatcher.
• Roofers to re-roof Burlington 96 and Midland 111.
• Lay down crossings between tracks at two locations.
• Scrape down locomotive #5629 and get it ready for painting.

The roundhouse has an ongoing need for:

• Painters
• Letterers
• Sheet metal workers
• Skilled carpenters
• Skilled wood refinishers
• Skilled machinists

Reminder: those volunteers who are qualified for train operations should sign up for Steam-Up dates on the bulletin board in the Roundhouse. See the website for the full 2007 schedule: www.crrm.org.

Spring Preparations Continue For 2007 Season

The condition of tourist and scenic railroads across the state has been something of speculation lately. Specifically, a cloud hangs over the Georgetown Loop railroad operated by the state historical society and Railstar. After a season which most would describe as lackluster in 2006, their featured star, Colorado & Southern engine No. 9, needed repairs after only a few months in operation. It’s uncertain whether it was the heavy grades of the loop, the large passenger loads or the fatigue brought by mechanical efforts to compensate for the grades and loads. What is certain is that No. 9 will not be in operation on opening day 2007. Their remaining steam engine, Colorado & Southern No. 12 is questionable for the 2007 season as well. Repair work must be done before the engine is serviceable. It could be that the Georgetown Loop will be without regular steam for a considerable part of the season. The diesels they have secured are likely up to the task, but as evidenced in Durango and elsewhere, diesels just don’t draw the fans that steam does.

Meanwhile, the San Luis & Rio Grande has promised that the engine they purchased, Southern Pacific 1744, will be running over La Veta Pass this summer. SP 1744, a Baldwin 2-6-0, has a storied past, along with a troubled second life as an excursion steamer. The engine will be trucked in hopefully at the end of this month.

Opening Days:

• Monday, May 7th - Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge begins summer runs to Silverton
  
• Saturday, May 26th
• Cumbres and Toltec Scenic
  
• Leadville, Colorado & Southern
• UPDATED: Friday, June 15th - Georgetown Loop
• Saturday, June 30th – Ski Train summer excursions to Winter Park

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Funding Still Lopsided

According to a news story in the Pueblo Chieftain, funding for the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic line from Colorado is painfully low.

...the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad won't see the $1.35 million it wanted to cover track rehabilitation costs, but it will get $80,000 to rehabilitate its car shop and engine house.

This is unfortunate, but not without its own causes. Wade Hall on the Narrow Gauge Railroad Discussion Forum offered this as part of his insightful commentary on the situation:

Out of the 100 Colorado legislators, about 13 hail from rural Colorado. Time was when that numerical disadvantage was somewhat overcome by many of the legislative leadership positions being held by rural legislators. Those days are gone. Add to that Colorado's budget inflexibility imposed partly by TABOR, and it's not hard to see why securing Colorado funding for the C&TS is such a challenge. The Front Range effectively controls the budget--and will continue to do [so].

While this certainly is a possibility, Nathan D. Holmes of DRGW.net states,

For those of you in Colorado, remember that if you want to see money for the C&TS, you need to make it known to your legislators. Like any good politician, they'll pay attention if enough people make enough noise about an issue. If you're not happy with the way the budget came out this year, writing them isn't a bad idea...

It certainly couldn't hurt the chances of the C&TS to do so. It could be that as long as the Colorado legislature pretends to fund what it owns, the C&TS will likely pretend to work. While New Mexico continues to fund the railroad it jointly owns, Colorado, for all the opulence of its natural beauty, fails to own up to its fiscal end of the bargain despite its joint ownership.

HT: DRGW.net

SP 1744 Steam Locomotive To Run On La Veta

It appears the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad just completed the purchase of former Southern Pacific Railroad standard-gauge steam locomotive #1744. This engine was listed recently for $800,000 by Ozark Mountain Railcar.

Built by Baldwin for SP in 1901, the 2-6-o Mogul is an oil burner. She has been reconfigured a few times, including going from compound to simple and having a superheater added and boosting the boiler to 200 p.s.i. After serving mostly in Califronia, her first service life effectively ended September 24, 1956, when SP retired her, placing her in stand-by status because of her good condition. According to Ozark, she saw occasional excursion service until the fall of 1958 when she starred in a feature film, entitled This Earth Is Mine released the following year.

She was donated to the National Society of the Sons of Utah Pioneers on May 9, 1959, where the locomotive was on static display at Corine, Utah along with Union Pacific 2-8-0 #264, sitting pilot to pilot as a representation of "the driving of the golden spike." This was prior to the actual rail park at Promontory, Utah.

She went to the Heber Valley Railroad (the Heber Creeper) in the 80s. According to Christopher Hawkins,

I learned to fire on SP 2-6-0 #1744. At that time, this engine just wasn't a good steamer at all, it's 63" drivers were designed to sprint down the San Juaquin Valley at 50mph, not climb a 2.5% mountain grade at 15mph like we were running her. Even retired SP hogheads [engineers] couldn't get her to steam; damper wide open, damper closed, fire door propped open, blower set for takeoff, she just didn't cooperate, and that made excellent firemen out of us, because there was no mercy, you had to plan ahead for everything. Later, we found that by cutting an auxilliary breathing hole in the oilpan near the burner, it allowed the fire to rise up and fill the corners of the firebox, she steamed like a firecracker after that!

In the 90s, rebuilding began for excursion service in Ft. Worth, Texas but work was not completed until she was sold to the New Orleans and Gulf Coast, a subsidiary of the Rio Grande Pacific Corporation, in 1999. Work was begun in Ft. Worth and a few break-in trips were made before she was shipped to the Big Easy. The next year, she began her work for the NO&GC. All too quickly, the venture folded in a couple of months and the 1744 has been for sale, serviceable, but will need some work before a full season can be expected out of her.

Here's hoping that the 1744 can leave her troubled past behind and begin to boost interest in the La Veta Pass route.

Richardson Memorial Service Scheduled

From the Colorado Railroad Museum...

You are invited to attend a Memorial Service for Bob Richardson on Saturday, May 5 2:00PM at the Colorado Railroad Museum to celebrate his life and his important contributions to railroad history and preservation. The locomotive #346 restoration fund has been created to honor Bob. All donations to the fund will be used to complete the last phase in the restoration of the 346. Donations should be made to "Colorado Railroad Museum" and designated to the 346 restoration fund.

For more information, visit the Colorado Railroad Museum web site. For directions, visit the site for a general map or get specific directions using Google Maps.

CRRM Co-founder Robert W. Richardson Dies at age 96

ROBERT WILLIAM RICHARDSON 1910- 2007
By Ron Hill, Colorado Railroad Museum, Photo by Mallory H. Ferrell

Fondly called “Uncle Robert” by all those who know and admired him, Robert William Richardson, age 96, passed away peacefully in State College, Pennsylvania, on February 23, 2007. Although plagued by short bouts of illness in recent years, Bob had remained basically healthy and in full possession of his remarkable memory and sharp wit right up until the end. Perhaps best known as the co-founder and longtime Executive Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum and a distinguished railroad author and photographer, Bob’s career could easily have gone in a different direction. Born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on May 21, 1910, he moved with his parents to Akron, Ohio, in 1915 and later graduated from high school there. Diverted from a college education, Bob went to work for a local hardware concern until the depression cost him his job. Along the way he had learned the printing business and proceeded to start his own small print shop in Akron. The depression years were especially hard for printers, and Bob’s shop closed in 1937. Stamp collecting was one of his major hobbies, and George Linn hired him as the second editor of “Linn’s Weekly Stamp News,” the principal publication dealing with that interest. Fortunately, for rail hobbyists and historians, Bob’s other hobby was railroading.

As a teenager, Bob enjoyed watching and photographing trains in Ohio and Pennsylvania. His insatiable curiosity led him to study railroad operations and history, and later he wrote articles for both “Trains” and “Railroad” magazines. In anticipation of forthcoming military service, he quit his job with “Linn’s” but then learned that he would not be called up for some time. Thus, he took a job as an advertising representative for the Seiberling Rubber Company, which required him to travel extensively through the southern states as he assisted Seiberling tire dealers and sought out interesting short line railroads.

In the summer of 1941, Bob and a friend came to Colorado for the first time, making an unforgettable circle tour on the narrow gauge. Bob become completely enamored of the slim gauge railroads of Colorado. After military service with the Army Signal Corps during WWII in Iran, where he studied the Persian railroads and learned to read Farsi, Bob returned to his job with Seiberling, but the lure of Colorado remained strong. He made repeated vacation trips to narrow gauge country in 1945, 1946 and 1947, eventually deciding to make his home here. In 1948 he quit his job, and he and a friend from Ohio pooled their resources to open the Narrow Gauge Motel in Alamosa. The motel grounds offered a fine place to display some of the narrow gauge equipment he had purchased, along with that saved by the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club. While at the motel, he began the sporadic publication of a very significant newsletter called simply “Narrow Gauge News” which later became the Colorado Railroad Museum’s “Iron Horse News.” At Alamosa, Bob Richardson tirelessly railed against the abandonment of the historic narrow gauge lines. It can accurately be said that his untiring efforts and the publicity he generated were among the primary reasons that the Silverton Train and the Cumbres and Toltec were preserved for future generations to savor.

While in Alamosa, Bob amassed a formidable collection of railroad artifacts and equipment, including famed D&RGW locomotive No. 346, which he purchased with his own funds in 1950. Then Cornelius W. Hauck, another prominent railroad enthusiast from Ohio, acquired D&RGW 318 and placed it at the motel. Bob’s friendship with “Corny” Hauck led to the establishment of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, which is today recognized as one of the truly great railroad museums in the country. Purchase of the former farm just east of Golden was completed in 1958, and the museum was officially opened to the public in July of 1959. Construction of the Iron Horse Motel next door was intended to be an additional source of operating revenue but instead proved to be overly time-consuming and was sold. Several years down the road, the motel was purchased and razed to make way for the roundhouse restoration facility and to enable completion of a loop of narrow gauge track. The Robert W. Richardson Railroad Library at the museum was created and named in his honor. Bob served as the distinguished Executive Director of the Colorado Railroad Museum until 1991 when he made the decision to retire and move back to Pennsylvania in that part of the country where he had been raised and where his nephews and niece reside. Even in retirement he continued to produce significant volumes dealing with railroad history, especially here in Colorado. Today, persons treasure their friendships and even casual meetings with him and will long remember his myriad contributions to Colorado railroad history. It is no exaggeration to say that he did more than any other person to preserve Colorado’s unique railroad heritage. We are indeed fortunate that his photographs and writings will be available for future generations of railroad enthusiasts and historians.

Bob Richardson was truly one of a kind and will be sorely missed. Rest in peace, Uncle Robert.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Colorado Railroad Museum for the restoration of Locomotive 346.

Special thanks to the Colorado Railroad Museum for making this available to Colorado Railroads.

Friends of the C&TS Work Sessions

Ever want to get your fingers out from behind that keyboard and doing something real? The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad have announced their work sessions for 2007. Sessions are planned for 2 weeks in May, June and August. There is also a special first session May 7-11. Visit their worksession page for more information, documentation and photos of previous work sessions.

Bob Richardson

Update: The Denver Post had a nice write-up on Richardson's life. HT: Stourbridge Lion, Linkman

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Update: Confirmed

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There is an unconfirmed report that Robert W. Richardson, 96, has died this morning, February 24, 2007. He was born May 27, 1910.

Few people have done more than Bob Richardson to preserve the history and memory of the narrow gauge in Colorado. His legacy remains the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, where most of his preserved engines, rolling stock and railroad memorabilia are on display. Richardson started the Narrow Gauge Motel in "South" Alamosa, which grew into a museum and eventually relocated to Golden. Richardson was also an author, photographer and "abandoned line reporter" for much of the narrow gauge empire that circled Colorado. People who knew him characterized him as a railfan's railfan and a patient teacher of railroad science and history, especially when he frequented the museum. His numbered Rail Annuals were published under the Colorado Railroad Museum. Prior to that, they were often circulated on mimeographed sheets to the community of interested historians and narrow gauge-minded ferroequinologists.

With his passing, the narrow gauge fans of the world have lost one of their best.