Bob Craine, Director of Friends of the C&TS, Passed Away Suddenly Sept 21

On a side note, there is some sad news from the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Apparently, the Director of the Friends organization suddenly passed away last month. According to the Friends' announcement, Bob Craine suffered a massive heart attack on Sunday, September 21, 2014 at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma that evening. He was 66 years old.

My prayers are with his wife, Debbie, as she grieves her loss. To me, it is a higher compliment  Mr. Craine's tribute page shows that he was a good man who affected other lives for the better.◊

''Tell My Wife I Died Thinking Of Her''

Over a century ago, the tale of Denver, South Park & Pacific engineer William Westall was a popular story and eventually people retold often enough that it entered into folklore. The common version is simple but memorable enough:

• A train filled with people was headed down the track
• Rounding a curve, the engineer saw an alarming sight. The track was obstructed with rocks and boulders
• Too late to stop in time, the engineer ordered his fireman to jump while he stayed and rode the brakes, in an attempt to spare his passengers
• While the train was slowed enough to prevent certain doom, the engine still struck the obstruction, mortally wounding the engineer
• Dying in his fireman's arms, the engineer's final words were, "Tell my wife I died thinking of her."

Westall Monument, photo by Milly Roeder

While typically devoid of details, the folk tale is nonetheless true. It might have been lost forever to history, if it weren't for a cryptic monument and a tourist's curiosity. The full story of the monument, the tourist and the engineer who saved 450 passengers from death is recorded by Milly Roeder in an article, The Story of Billy Westall and the Westall Monument, originally published in 1998 by the Jefferson County Historical Commission.

The next year after Westall's death, the DSP&P was absorbed in the 1899 merger creating the Colorado & Southern. That same year, the monument was placed along the right of way near the spot of the derailed engine. For the next century, it stood, surviving not only the C&S, but the Burlington, BN and all the people who ever knew Westall. The monument itself, according to the 14 year-old article, was in peril of falling into the river.

Enter a group of students, the National Junior Honor Society from West Jefferson Middle School in Conifer. Over the past year and a half, they've been planning and working to restore the monument. Notably, the way they're going about it seems to be working. They've involved a number of folks, like Denver Water's Neil Sperandeo, and historic groups, including Colorado Preservation Inc. and the Denver South Park & Pacific Historic Society. As of this month, work has progressed to the point that they have a new site picked out and could use some grant money to restore the monument to its new location. Those interested in getting involved or donating to the project should e-mail Mr. Frank Reetz of West Jefferson Middle School.

All this cooperation and learning is happening because of history, preservation, and adults who are willing to get involved. Certainly, a lot of good is coming out of the tragic death of an engineer.◊

Mudhen 463 Frame Mated To Boiler In Mammoth Crane Event

Some great news has come out of Monte Vista this month! Denver & Rio Grande Western steam engine 463 has taken a major step in her return to steam. The frame and boiler were finally mated back together at last. Everything appears to be on schedule for the K-27 class Mudhen to return to steam at the beginning of the 2012 Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad summer season.

POTD - Fort Collins Municipal Railway's Birney Car 21

Before T-Rex, before Light Rail, even before buses, there were street cars. If a town had any aspirations of being a city of some importance, one of the first items on the agenda was creating a municipal railway or other rapid transit. It was a mark of distinction to have a trolley system and the bigger and more refined it was, the better the populace felt about the city.

Then, depending on who you listen to, it seems a motor company decided it wanted to sell buses. The best way to do that was to buy up municipal railways and discard them as soon as possible, doing away with the efficient steel wheel on steel rail and electric power in favor of inefficient rubber tires on asphalt and gasoline power that was cheap as dirt. No more yellow trolleys in Denver. Done to death are the streetcars of Trinidad and Colorado Springs. But a single flickering flame in Fort Collins survived.

Kept by volunteers, the Fort Collins Municipal Railway plies Mountain Avenue, connecting City Park with the central business district on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the summer months. There once was much more to this municipal railway, but it's lost to the march of time and mankind's notion of progress in the 1950s. It once crossed the rails of the Colorado Central (now BNSF), and traveled in a loop, from Mountain and College, east to Peterson, south to Magnolia, east to Whedbee, south to Pitkin and Ft Collins High School, west to College and back north to Mountain. It covered a lot of ground and, had it survived intact, it would be an even greater asset to Fort Collins than it is today.

Ft Collins Municipal Railway #21 makes its familiar trip down Mountain Avenue
passing the siding at Mack Street, long out of service, on July 23, 2011.
Photo: James E. House

Valuable Model Railroad Damaged In Union Station Floods

The HO-scale Platte Valley & Western model railroad and the O-scale Colorado Midland model railroad, both located in the basement of Union Station, were flooded earlier this month. While only a few inches, the flood caused damage to electrical equipment of the Platte Valley & Western as well as damage to display materials stored in a closet.

Highball! First Run of Passengers Over Lobato Trestle From Chama To Osier

It is all over the narrow gauge world out there this morning that Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is finally back in service! While there were photos and videos of the trestle with the C&TS diesel switcher and a MOW car with ballast for the abutments, there was no official word when the trestle will be ready for daily service with the two regular trains ...until suddenly yesterday morning when a train loaded up and quietly left Chama, full of passengers.

Volunteers Needed This Weekend

Colorado Railroads just received an urgent appeal for volunteers this Saturday for a steam-up at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Here it is:

Looking for volunteers to help with parking for our "Bunny Express" Saturday. We are anticipating need for overflow parking for this annual and very popular event at the Colorado Railroad Museum. Help!!!!

Donald Tallman
Executive Director

If you're in the Denver area on Saturday and need an excuse to go to the Colorado Railroad Museum for the day, this is about as good as they get. Giving time to the museum is an easy and cheap way to show your support for Colorado's railroad history. Contact Donald Tallman via Facebook, or contact the museum directly at 303-279-4591 or 800-365-6263.

Friends Bring $121K Check For Lobato Trestle

The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a volunteer support organization that works to preserve the rolling stock and most of the equipment of the Cumbres & Toltec. Last year on June 24th, the trestle at Lobato burned in a spectacular nighttime blaze. No one was injured, and the investigators have ruled out arson. Even while the embers were cooling , the Friends have taken on the work of soliciting donations for the rebuild, hopefully in time to restore service from Chama this coming season, which starts May 28th.

Firemen School on the C&TS

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad continues their school for different roles on steam operated freight trains. This week, they've got 6 firemen students training. The video is from Monday where they spent half the day in the classroom and half the day making up the train they planned to use on Tuesday.

Photos of UP 844 In Milliken

Kimm Wierema, who lives with a family of railfans, managed to capture some really nice photos of UP 844 on its visit to Milliken, Colorado. The last-purchased, never-retired steam locomotive of the Union Pacific was on hand on June 26th to help the City of Milliken celebrate its centennial this year.

Opportunity To Assist With The Lobato Trestle Restoration

Following up on the previous post on Lobato Trestle. I received the following message from Tim Tennant, President and CEO of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a non-profit dedicated toward preserving the history of the C&TS equipment. He states,

What It's Like To Volunteer

I just got done reading Boho in the 'Burbs: Train Yard Volunteering. See what it's like to volunteer at the Colorado Railroad Museum for a few hours. If anything, it's worth the look inside CB&Q business car 96. It's very cool to see a family get together and give a few hours together. It got me thinking too.

Volunteers Needed

Happy Easter, everyone! He is risen!

The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden needs volunteers to work in the office, on the track crew, in restoration projects in the roundhouse, in the library and as tour guides. I've volunteered at the museum before and it's a great experience! To step up, contact volunteer coordinator David Williams at 720-274-5147 or e-mail david@crrn.org.

What Are You Doing This Summer?

Rio Grande narrow gauge cabooses (cabeese?) have square-shaped nuts and bolts. How do I know this? Years ago, I worked with Colorado Railroad Museum volunteers to help restore a caboose, replacing hex heads with the authentic hardware. It felt great getting to restore a bit of Colorado railroading history, and I connect with the caboose when I come through the museum.

Connect with history on your own by volunteering with your local museum, or consider working on one of the Friends of the C&TS worksessions this summer. But don't just connect with history, connect with a family member, a spouse, or even a friend over your work together. Meet some new friends and get out of the routine!

Colorado Railroad Museum Needs Volunteers For Day Out With Thomas

The call is out for volunteers in the Denver area for the Colorado Railroad Museum's Day Out with Thomas event. The last three weekends in September, each Saturday and Sunday (no Fridays this time), the museum will host what Executive Director Donald Tallman calls "our most important fundraiser of the year."

Thomas & Friends has been on television since 1984, making the series 24 years old. While not every railfan enjoys the little blue engine, Thomas has introduced many a toddler to railways, Brittish railways but railways nonetheless. What the Day Out With Thomas event does is bring out people to the Colorado Railroad Museum who would not otherwise have cause to visit. Each year, those visitors are exposed to the museum and its presentation of Colorado's unique and storied railroad history, including children who have never heard of Galloping Geese, rotary snowplows or garden railways. What starts out with a little blue toy could end up as a life-long love of all things railroad and a special fondness of the railroad museum. The event itself is the key and it can't happen without volunteers.

"This event has been successful in the past due to the outstanding volunteers we have had. It takes nearly 100 volunteers per day to run the event. We can't do it without volunteers," Tallman says. Contact Kelvin@crrm.org for more information or to sign up to help with the Day Out With Thomas event. You can also call 303-279-4591 and ask about volunteering. You can even tell them Colorado Railroads let you know about it.

Here is a YouTube video of an early Thomas event at the museum. Be warned, however, that if you don't like bouncy, happy children's songs sung by children with English accents--and really, who doesn't?--it's best that you mute the audio.

RGS Galloping Goose No. 4 Restoration Underway

Trainboard.com member JCater visited Ridgway recently and took some photos of Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose #4, under restoration by the Ridgway Railroad Museum. It looks like the volunteers there have split the car body from the cab. Their plans are to survey the car and record its condition extensively before beginning any repairs.

JCater's gallery
Colorado Railroads blog post: RGS Galloping Goose No. 4 To Be Restored In Ridgway

Volunteer At the Colorado Railroad Museum June 28th

For those in the Denver-Golden area on June 28th, the Colorado Railroad Museum will be hosting its first all-Museum work day. Volunteer coordinator Kelvin Harr says that there will be mini-restoration projects, landscaping projects, track projects, and office projects that volunteers start and finish that day. Have fun, get your museum fix, and end up with a real sense of accomplishment. Contact Kelvin@crrm.org if you would like to help out!

On a side note, several mechanically inclined volunteers are needed at the Colorado Railroad Museum to put the No. 50 Switcher back together. They need a Project Leader and individuals to work on installing the transmission, clutch, air brake rigging and running gear. If this is your cup of tea, contact Kelvin Harr at the link above.