# D&RGW NG freight consists



## TJH (Dec 27, 2007)

On SG trains, its common to see freight cars from a variety of railroads in the consist. However, on all the pictures I've seen of D&RGW narrow gauge freights, the consist is entirely Rio Grande. Would you ever see trains with cars from some of the other NG Colorado railroads like DSP&P, C&S, RGS, F&CC, etc? Or for that matter cars that might have been owned by a particular business (reefers for example)? Also was there a particular order to the cars? In a lot of the pictures it seems like box cars and livestock cars are usually up front. Thanks for the [email protected] url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/CEHtmlEditorProvider/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Most NG railroads interchanged with SG roads so product was reloaded instead of cars being interchanged. 
There were a couple of inventions to change out trucks under cars to allow interchange, but methinks the industry matured and NG regaged to Standard. 
Clothslining could be a problem so heavier cars went up front. Clothslining refers to pulling cars off a curve to a straightline between two anchors... heavy cars at the end plus the resistence of a curve equals an anchor, lighter cars in the middle get pulled off the rails... 

John


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Your right - correct - Totalwrecker!! mm,..a 'mean John!!! 

I've been on "that' clothes line a time or 2 too many!! :~} 

Dirk, now I run on BIG curves!!!! Just waiting 'fer a BIG BOY - someday!


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## S.B.A. (Jul 19, 2009)

Colorado railroads started off in a multitude, and within a time period of about 20 years they condensed into three major roads, the D&RG (later the D&RGW), the C&S and the RGS. In the early years (1872-1900) the main roads were the DSP&P which was later owned by the Union Pacific, and the D&RG. DSP&P and the D&RG were rivals in the race to reach Gunnison from Denver, with the D&RG succeeding, this resulted in no DSP&P cars on D&RG track or the other way around, however DSP&P did have operating agreements that allowed D&RG trains on DSP&P track. I have seen a photograph before of a narrow gauge Union Pacific boxcar on the DSP&P and a narrow gauge AT&SF boxcar on either the D&RG or the D&RGW. As for post 1900s narrow gauge, the C&S was almost completely isolated from the D&RGW, which meant no "lending of cars". The RGS however used almost exclusively D&RGW rolling stock to transport goods, D&RGW cars were always seen on the RGS, but RGS cars were never seen on the D&RGW. A final interesting note is a great deal of equipment from the C&S (a multitude of steel framed boxcars and flatcars) made it to the RGS, but never seemed to leave the Ridgeway yards. So a simple answer is, only the RGS used D&RGW equipment, everything else was pretty isolated. 

-Sean


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## TJH (Dec 27, 2007)

Awesome thank you for the info. Another question. How did the Rio Grande transport coal? Did they use the wood gondolas? I haven't seen a pick of a NG freight with a hopper, and I as far as I can think of, only Bachmann in 1:20.3 and Aristo/Delton in 1:24 have made a NG hopper or hopper style car model lettered for the D&RGW.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

To the best of my knowledge, they used gons and drop-bottom gons to transport coal. I guess labor was cheap enough where they could find enough strong backs to shovel the stuff out of the gons. I don't recall that the D&RGW served any coal mines, at least not on the narrow gauge part of the line. (See correction below. Of course they did--hauling more coal than any other commodity, evidently. Since the rest of this post was based on a false premise, I'll nuke it to avoid confusion.)

Later, 

K


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Kevin:

The D&RGW served coal mines north of Gunnison. There were several branch lines out of Gunnison. One line serviced the coal mines near Crested Butte. I'll have to check a book for the names of the other coal branches. Coal was one of the one pf the principle loads that went over Marshall Pass.


Chuck 


Note added: The second coal branch out of Gunnison went to Castleton where it split to serve coal mines at Baldwin and Kubler. Because of a lightly constructed bridge on the Baldwin branch only C-16 class engines were used on that branch (Robert W. Richardson, *RIO GRANDE -Chasing the Narrow Gauge, Volume II*, p. 86).

One of the branches out of Crested Butte ended at Anthracite, you can't get anymore coalie than that. 

There were also coal mines serviced by the D&RGW in Durango and along the main line (Monero, New Mexico) between Chama and Durango. 

Richardson also mentions that one of the big mines in the Gunnison Valley was owned by Colorado Fuel & Iron. I imagine that most of that coal went to Pueblo, Colorado to fuel the CF&I steel mills located there. Does anyone know if they used the rotary dumper in Salida to transfer coal to SG cars for the trip to Pueblo? That is where they transferred the limestone from the quarry on Monarch pass from NG to SG for the Pueblo steel mills.


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

There were also coal mines along the RGS west of Durango. 

The D&RG referred to the wooden "gondolas" as coal cars. In fact, the coal pockets and other facilities were serviced by pulling up a coal car and having the coal shoveled off of the car by hand!! The crews complained vociferously when the sides were raised from four planks (as originally built) to five planks. The guys had to raise the shovel higher to do their job.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Of course they did, and the reason you see so many gons with spliced vertical supports on the side was the car-chewing rotary dump at Salida. I knew that. Don't know why I couldn't recall it last night, but I knew that... I promise--no more late-night waxing about Colorado narrow gauge without hauling my butt upstairs to check the books first.  

(And Chuck--yeah. A town called "Anthracite" should have been a clue.) 

Later, 

K


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## Reg Stocking (Sep 29, 2010)

Those who wish to learn a lot about narrow gauge railroading should beg, borrow or steal a copy of "American Narrow Gauge Railroads" by Prof. George W. Hilton. See if a library has it or can borrow it for you. Hilton taught transportation economics at UCLA and was curator of transportation relics at the Smithsonian. This book is a magesterial account of the theory, civil engineering, equipment, history, and realities of American narrow gauge, including the issues of transloading between narrow and standard gauge, why there was little interchanging between narrow gauge companies and many others. It also has a short history of each narrow gauge company. 

Something makes me suspect that there was little through traffic to be interchanged between the Rio Grande and DSS&P/CS. Narrow gauge lines tended to be feeders of standard gauge lines. Rio Grande ended up owning RGS and ran it as a subsidiary. It may well have bought a bunch of surplus cars from CS and then had little use for them. Narrow gauge didn't develop and flourish across the nation the way its promoters thought it would in the 1870s. Hilton goes all through this. Go check him out, but be warned that he will keep you up long past your bedtime.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

This afternoon I was running a freight train and it had a Bachmann Florence and Cripple Creek box car along with a consist of D&RGW cars. It got me to thinking about the interchange possibilities of these two railroads. A quick check "Narrow Gauge in the Rockies" answered the question.


One exception to the lack of interchange in Colorado is the D&RGW and the Florence and Cripple Creek RR. They met at Florence, Colorado. Beebe and Clegg, "Narrow Gauge in the Rockies", p. 170 write about through passenger trains between Denver and the District. The District is the gold mining area around Cripple Creek and Victor. On page 175 they have a picture of a D&RG box car (it sure looks like one of the early LGB D&RG box cars) on a siding at the Gold Coin Mine in Victor.


Chuck


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

It took me too long to down load the pictures of my mixed train that triggered a memory about the F&CC and D&RG, so I had to start a new post.



















Chuck


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

The C&S cars used on the RGS were owned by a man named Victor Miller. Mr. Miller had some kind of agreement with the C&S that didn't work out, and sued the C&S, and in a settlement took possession of 125 cars. After making sure in the agreement that the C&S repaired the cars to runnable condition, had them loaded on SG cars, and then he promptly had them moved to the RGS and leased them to the railroad. 

I believe at some point he sold them to the railroad. The two refeers that were built into outfit cars were from this batch. (Why use reefers instead of boxcars? They were insulated...) 

Robert


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

I'm assuming that you are going for historical accuracy. If this is the case then you have to take in the fact that the DSP&P, the Colorado Central and acouple others became the C&S. The D&RG became the D&RGW. As stated, the RGS utilized "hand me down" equipment from the D&RGW. Keeping them all straight is a pain (especially since we haven't even gotten to the other 10 or so ng railroads operating in Colorado at that time!) There are a series of books at the Colorado Railroad Museum called Colorado Railroad Annuals. There are something like 28 of them and each one deals with different subjects. They are some of the best reference materials you could acquire on Colorado railroading. Contact the CRRM.
On the other hand, you can do what some of us have done and create an "alternate history" for your railroad. Mine is the Kansas Central & Colorado R.R. which supposes that the Kansas Central narrow gauge railroad that started in Leavenworth, KS and headed west with the goal of reaching Denver and linking with the D&RG had actually succeeded in it's goal! The revitalized D&RG was able to stave off Jay Gould and the UP and consolodate with the C&S. Eventually, the D&RGW had arrangements with the C&S much like it did with the RGS. As such, narrow gauge lasted up around Clear Creek decades longer than it originally did. This allowed for all kinds of different lettering configurations! Is it historically accurate? Nope. Does it mean anything? Huh uh. Is it all for fun and I really couldn't give a d*mn? Yep! The point is that you can pretty much do what you want!


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Don't forget the tank cars! UTLX, Conoco, CYCX, and Texaco. The GRAMPS cars were actually UTLX owned. I use them to add variety. 

Robert


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Robert:

The original posts on this thread were about interchange with the various Colorado NG railroads. 

Those are certainly not D&RGW, they were privately owned, but when they were used there were no other NG railroads on which they could be run. Alamosa was the end of the line. There the oil had to be transferred to SG cars or trucks. 

Those cars are very welcome on my train anytime.

Chuck

PS: In a senior moment, I originally posted this in the Bachmann discussion. Hence, the deleted post.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

From the OP: "Or for that matter cars that might have been owned by a particular business (reefers for example)?" 

Although they aren't reefers, I would say I was right on topic mentioning the tank cars. Especially the Conoco Tank on Flats, that moved from the C&S Cripple Creek line to the D&RGW. 

In reality, the only "unlimited" interchange was between the RGS and the D&RGW. But there was a lot going on. RGS 20 was originally a F&CC loco #20, and at one point was painted in a pretty wild "Ticket to Tomahawk" livery. D&RGW 346 was purchassed by the D&RG, rolled into the D&RGW, loaned to the C&S, wrecked, rebuilt, returned to the D&RGW and sent to the RGS - with the bear trap cinder trap. Then she was sold to the Montezuma Lumber Company, and then sold to the Narrow Gauge Motel, and eventually became part of the collection at the Colorado Railroad Museum. 

There were several lines that fed into the RGS, including the Silverton Northern, although from what I can tell there was never any equipment owned by or lettered for them. 

Robert


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## Ironton (Jan 2, 2008)

The Silverton Railroad, Silverton Northern, and the Silverton Gladstone and Northerly did not interchange with the RGS. They all ran north out of Silverton Co. and interchanged with the D&RG/D&RGW. The RGS ran from Durango to Ridgway connecting with the D&RG/D&RGW on both ends. 

The D&RG and the DSP&P/C&S at one time shared trackage in South Park. They could easily interchange there or in Gunnison. I don't remember if there was a physical connection in Gunnison, but both railroads had tracks there. 

So yeah, there could be some interchange of cars. There is a picture in "The Rainbow Route" taken in (I believe) Eureka which shows what looks like a Gold Belt Line car. 

Hope this helps.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Just a suggestion, the Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum has someone who likes to post consists of various trains on the D&RGW occassionally. 

Alamosa January 15 1937 
Posted by: Jimmy Blouch (IP Logged) 
Date: February 17, 2012 04:23PM 


Friday January 15 1937 

ALAMOSA 

Cumbres 8:20 AM, clear, calm, 12 below, 1” new snow, 51” on ground 
Chama clear, calm, no new snow, 7” old snow 

Chama extra east with engines 459 and 487, Lava turn, plow and flanger 
Conductor Roberts 
Engine 459 Odgers 
Engine 487 Thompson 

Depart Chama 4:00 AM 
Arrive Cumbres 5:00 AM, 30 minutes flange 
Depart Cumbres 5:30 AM 
Big Horn 1 hour 40 minutes for extra 480 west (did not meet here, extra 480 west stuck at MP 295) 
Arrive Lava 9:00 AM, 5 minutes turn 
Depart Lava 9:05 AM 
Arrive Cumbres 12:10 PM, 1 hour 20 minutes flanging 
Depart Cumbres 1:30 PM 
Arrive Chama 2:35 PM 

Alamosa extra 480 west 
Conductor McLaughlin 
Engineer Kearin 

Depart Alamosa 3:15 AM with 25 loads 
Estrella 25 minutes hot box engine 480 
Arrive Antonito 5:35 AM with 26 loads, 15 minutes coal & water 
Depart Antonito 5:55 AM with 25 loads 
Lava 2 hours 30 minutes account stuck MP 295, wait for plow & flanger 
(Does not appear P&F helped train at MP 295, that extra 480 west was able to back to Lava and wait, then follow extra 459-487 west) 
Arrive Cumbres 12:45 PM with 25 loads, blocked by extra 459-487 west 
Depart Cumbres 1:45 PM with 25 loads 
Lobato 35 minutes meet No. 116 
Arrive Chama 3:30 PM with 25 loads 

No. 115 with engine470 
Conductor Hines 
Engineer Hopper (to Chama) 
Swing brakeman R C Shuck 
Deadhead engine crews A S Johnson & Werner, Kellogg & Hyde Alamosa to Chama, move east bound tonnage 

Depart Alamosa 7:55 AM with 11 cars, 45 minutes transfer 
240 
127 
167 
125 
66 
156 
320 
Durango 
163 
63 
306 
Antonito set out cars 163, 63 and 306 for No. 425 
Not shown where No. 115 passed extra 480 west and extra 459-487 west 
Arrive Cumbres 11:34 AM 
Depart Cumbres 11:38 AM 
Arrive Chama 12:20 PM, 15 minutes ash pan frozen 
Depart Chama 12:35 PM (engineer House) 
Arrive Dulce 1:59 PM 
Depart Dulce 2:01 PM 
Oxford 10 minutes meet extra 489 east 
Arrive Durango 5:40 PM with 8 cars 

No. 116 with engine 475 
Conductor Pollard 
Engineer Connor (to Chama) 

Depart Durango 9:50 AM with 5 cars 
119 
159 
151 
287 
Silverton 
Arrive Dulce 1:16 PM 
Depart Dulce 1:19 PM 
Arrive Chama 2:38 PM 
Depart Chama 2:45 PM (engineer Hopper) 
Arrive Cumbres 3:50 PM 
Depart Cumbres 3:55 PM 
Antonito pick up 5 cars from No.426 
164 
169 
154 
62 
284 
Arrive Alamosa 7:15 PM with 10 cars 

Chama extra 488 west 
Conductor Fry 
Engineer Dieckman 

Depart Chama 5:30 PM with 25 loads 
Monero 45 minutes mdse and switching 
Amargo 30 minutes load 3 cars cattle (destination not shown) 
Lumberton 20 minutes mdse and switching 
Dulce 45 minutes mdse, switching and meet extra 489 east 
Pagosa Jct 40 minutes eat, coal & water 
Arboles 15 minutes switching 
Allison 5 minutes mdse, 10 minutes ash pan frozen up 
Tiffany 15 minutes mdse and switching 
Ignacio 30 minutes mdse and switching 
Arrive Durango 5:10 AM with 21 loads 1 empty 


Chama extra 480 west, light engine to Lumberton, helper for extra 489 east 
Engineer Densmore 

Depart Chama 8:45 PM 
Arrive Lumberton time not shown 

Durango extra 489 east with helper engine 476 (helper off Falfa) 
Conductor S Edmisten 
Engine 489 Vinton 
Engine 476 Johnson 

Depart Durango 3:10 PM with 23 loads 3 empties, includes 4 cars sheep from RGS, Dolores 
Falfa helper engine 476 off, return light to Durango 
Oxford 15 minutes meet No. 115 
Arboles 10 minutes local 
Pagosa Jct 35 minutes eat, coal & water 
Lumberton 1 hour local and switching, helper engine 480 on 
Amargo 20 minutes switching 
Arrive Chama 1:50 AM with 32 loads 10 empties 

Alamosa Antonito turn with engine 1022 
Conductor Hurley 
Engineer Tozier 

Alamosa work extra 1189 
Conductor F Edmisten 
Engineer Holly 

Worked between Alamosa and La Jara picking up company material and loading rail 

Santa Fe branch 

Train No. 425 with engine 478 
Conductor Willis 
Engineer Walsh 

Depart Antonito 9:35 AM with 9 loads 
2 flour Santa Fe 
1 coal Santa Fe 
1 mdse Santa Fe 
1 mdse Espanola 
1 coal Espanola 
163 
63 
306 
Arrive Santa Fe 5:35 PM with 7 loads 1 empty 

Train No. 426 with engine 471 
Conductor Pheney 
Engineer Clarke 

Depart Santa Fe 9:55 AM with 4 loads 5 empties 
1 mdse Espanola 
1 mdse way 
1 empty refrigerator 
1 empty box 
164 empty 
169 empty 
154 empty 
62 
284 
Arrive Antonito 5:30 PM with 3 loads 4 empties 

(added 2-18-12) 

Engine 471 run light to Alamosa, shops to test 
engineer Clarke 

Depart Antonito 5:40 PM 
Arrive Alamosa 6:50 PM 

SALIDA 

Marshall Pass clear, calm, 20” old snow 
Sargent clear, calm, 9” old snow 

Salida extra 472 west with helper engines 491 and 499, Sargent turn with Sargent hill turn 
Had departed Salida 7:15 PM, (Jan 14) arrived Sargent 11:35 PM 
Conductor Rhodes 
Engine 472 W Wilson 
Engine 491 R Wilson 
Engine 499 Dailey 

As Sargent hill turn extra 472 east with helpers 491 and 499 depart Sargent 12:30 AM with 15 loads 
Arrive Marshall Pass 1:50 AM with 15 loads, 40 minutes set out, turn, table stuck 
Engine 491 depart Marshall Pass 2:05 AM light for Sargent 
Engine 499 depart Marshall Pass 2:25 AM light for Sargent 
Engine 472 depart Marshall Pass 2:35 AM with caboose for Sargent 
Extra 472 east with helper engines 491 and 499 depart Sargent 4:55 AM with 17 loads 
Arrive Marshall Pass 6:10 AM, 1 hour 40 minutes blocked from filling train account extra 496-481-495 west doubling to Marshall Pass from Pocono and having west pass track blocked with their train, necessary back down west of Marshall Pass to let extra 496 west in on their second trip, arrived 7:00 AM, 1 hour 25 minutes delay, 15 minutes delay blocked by No. 315, then insufficient time to fill train and make Salida by 10:45 AM 
Engine 491 depart Marshall Pass 8:05 AM light for Salida 
Engine 499 depart Marshall Pass 8:15 AM light for Salida 
Extra 472 east depart Marshall Pass 8:25 AM with 17 loads 
Arrive Salida 10:35 AM with 10 loads 

Salida extra 495 west with helper engines 496 and 481 
Conductor McCall 
Engine 495 C Wilson 
Engine 496 Runyon 
Engine 481 Graham 

Depart Salida 1:20 AM with 47 empties 
Poncha Jct 20 minutes meet extra 490 east (of Jan 14) 
Mears Jct 15 minutes water 
MP 238 2 hours 40 minutes account snow and doubling to Marshall Pass 
Arrive Marshall Pass 7:00 AM with 39 empties 
Engine 481 depart Marshall Pass 8:35 AM light for Salida 
Engine 496 depart Marshall Pass 7:30 AM for Sargent, arrive Sargent 8:50 AM 
Extra 495 west depart Marshall Pass 7:45 AM with 39 empties 
Buxton 10 minutes No. 315 by 
Arrive Sargent 9:00 AM, saw by 498-497 east, eat, set out and pick up 
Plan was to do Sargent hill turn, no time to double, need to protect stock out of Gunnison 
Engine 496 depart Sargent 10:05 AM light for Gunnison 
Extra 495 west depart Sargent 10:30 AM with 43 empties 
Arrive Gunnison 11:55 AM with 43 empties 

Train No. 315 with engine 479 
Conductor Mahoney 
Engineer Harrell 

Depart Salida 6:00 AM with 4 cars 
60 
152 
280 
Camp Bird 
Arrive Marshall Pass 7:30 AM 
Depart Marshall Pass 7:55 AM 
Marshall Pass to Buxton 25 minutes extra 495 west ahead 
Arrive Gunnison 10:00 AM with 4 cars 

Gunnison extra 498 west east with helper engine 497 (edit 6-2-12) 
Conductor Sandberg 
Engine 498 Frantz 
Engine 497 C Wilson 

Depart Gunnison 5:40 AM with 59 loads, includes 15 cars cattle from Montrose 
Parlin 10 minutes water 
Arrive Sargent 7:50 AM with 59 loads, 40 minutes double in, reduce take coal & water and double train over to get in clear account No. 315 and extra 495 west, 40 minutes for extra west, 20 minutes get our train together, cut in helpers, add Sargent helper engine 492, engineer Veo 
Extra 498 east with helpers 497 and 492 depart Sargent 9:30 AM with 24 loads 
Chester to Marshall Pass 15 minutes lost account rear helper 492 slipping, sand pipes stopped up 
Arrive Marshall Pass 11:00 AM with 24 loads 
Engine 492 depart Marshall Pass 11:20 AM light for Sargent 
Engine 497 depart Marshall Pass 12:20 PM light for Salida 
Extra 498 east depart Marshall Pass 12:55 PM with 41 loads 
Arrive Salida 3:15 PM with 33 loads 

Train No. 316 with engine 479 
Conductor Mahoney 
Engineer Harrell 

Depart Gunnison 6:15 PM with 4 cars, 10 minutes turn equipment, load mail & passengers 
60 
152 
280 
Camp Bird 
Keene 10 minutes meet extra 499 west 
Arrive Salida 9:50 PM with 4 cars 

Salida extra 490 west, Valley line, Moffat turn for stock 
Conductor Straitiff 
Engineer Hyatt 

Depart Salida 6:20 AM with caboose 
Arrive Moffat 9:00 AM with 6 loads, 20 minutes turn and set out, 30 minutes wait for stock inspector, 2 hours 55 minutes load 38 cars cattle, 35 minutes for billing 

Salida extra 491 west, light engine to Villa Grove, helper for extra 490 east, Valley line 
Engineer Crylie 

Depart Salida 11:45 AM 
Arrive Villa Grove time not shown 

Extra 490 east depart Moffat 1:20 PM with 38 loads 
Villa Grove times not shown, helper engine 491 on 
Double Round Hill to Poncha Pass 
Engine 491 depart Poncha Pass light for Salida 
Extra 490 east depart Poncha Pass (can’t make out time) 
Arrive Salida 5:00 PM with 38 loads 

Salida extra 485 west, Monarch branch, clean up Monarch branch so quarry can work 
Conductor Kilgore 
Engineer Treskett 

Depart Salida 5:10 PM with 14 empties, flanger 
Arrive Monarch 7:00 PM, 45 minutes clean snow and switching, 25 minutes air, 2 hours 40 minutes doubling (to Maysville) 
Depart Monarch 8:10 PM 
Arrive Maysville 9:35 PM 
Depart Maysville 9:50 PM 
Garfield 15 minutes hot box RG 1436, no oil 
Arrive Monarch 11:00 PM, 1 hour 45 minutes buck snow at Monarch 
Depart Monarch 1:15 AM 
Garfield 1 hour 30 minutes clean snow and ice off main line 
Maysville 30 minutes re-brass RG 1628 account brass turned over, pick up an test air 
Poncha Jct 10 minutes orders 
Arrive Salida 5:40 AM (Jan 16) with 29 loads 

Salida extra 499 west with helper engine 497, Sargent turn with Sargent hill turn 
Conductor Marmet 
Engine 499 Bovee 
Engine 497 Hockett 

Depart Salida 7:00 PM with 29 empties 
Keene 25 minutes meet No.316 
Arrive Marshall Pass 10:00 PM with 29 empties 
Engine 497 depart Marshall Pass 10:10 PM light for Sargent 
Extra 499 west depart Marshall Pass 10:20 PM with 29 empties 
Buxton 15 minutes set out 
Arrive Sargent 11:45 PM with caboose 
(Balance of run on Jan 16 post) 

GUNNISON 

Gunnison clear, calm, 4” old snow 
Crested Butte clear, calm, 22” old snow 

Crested Butte branch Train No. 347 and Train No. 348 with engine 474 and helper engine 460 
Conductor McMillan 
Engine 474 Dunlap 
Engine 460 Tyrer 

Depart Gunnison 1:10 PM with 60 empties, flanger 
Jacks Cabin 25 minutes switching 
Arrive Crested Butte 3:15 PM with 57 empties, flanger, 5 hours 5 minutes switching, eat, air 
Depart Crested Butte 8:20 PM with 53 loads 
Jacks Cabin 35 minutes switching, pick up 3 cars cattle 
Arrive Gunnison 10:30 PM with 56 loads 

Baldwin branch extra 223-278 
Conductor Purceil 
Engine 223 Myers 
Engine 278 Braswell 

Depart Gunnison 8:00 AM with 24 empties, flanger 
1 hour 40 minutes picking ice and flanging to Baldwin 
Arrive Baldwin 11:50 AM, 1 hour 40 minutes mine work and eat 
Depart Baldwin 1:30 PM 
Arrive Gunnison 4:10 PM with 21 loads flanger 

Baldwin branch extra 223, Wylie turn for stock 
Conductor Purceil 
Engineer Myers 

Depart Gunnison 5:00 PM with 5 empties 
Arrive Wylie 5:40 PM, 20 minutes load 5 cars cattle 
Depart Wylie 6:00 PM with 5 loads 
Arrive Gunnison 6:40 PM with 5 loads 

Switch crew at Gunnison foreman Dean engineer price, shows using engine 460 (which is possible but not for the entire shift) 

DURANGO 

Durango clear, calm, 4 below, 4” old snow 

Farmington branch extra 476 
Conductor Henry 
Engineer J Johnson 

Depart Durango 12:15 AM with 3 loads 2 empties 
1 mdse 
1 feed 
2 empty tanks 
Bondad 10 minutes section house water 
Aztec 25 minutes mdse and switching 
Refinery 30 minutes switching and set out 
Arrive Farmington 4:20 AM with 4 loads 6 empties, eat, water section house, switching 
Depart Farmington 5:50 AM with 6 loads 6 empties 
5 oil Minnequa 
6 empty box 
Flora Vista 20 minutes set out 
Aztec 30 minutes switching and pick up 
Cedar Hill 25 minutes switching 
Riverside 10 minutes set out 
Bondad tank 10 minutes water 
Arrive Durango 11:20 AM with 6 loads 7 empties 

Farmington branch work extra 462 
Conductor Knight 
Engineer Klahn 

Worked with derrick OP and bridge gang at bridge 472.32 and bridge 471.01 

Durango switch engine 271 foreman Pfeiffer engineer Basher 

Jimmy


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## jaycosnett (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By S.B.A. on 10 Jun 2012 11:33 PM 
Colorado railroads started off in a multitude, and within a time period of about 20 years they condensed into three major roads, the D&RG (later the D&RGW), the C&S and the RGS. In the early years (1872-1900) the main roads were the DSP&P which was later owned by the Union Pacific, and the D&RG. DSP&P and the D&RG were rivals in the race to reach Gunnison from Denver, with the D&RG succeeding, this resulted in no DSP&P cars on D&RG track or the other way around, however DSP&P did have operating agreements that allowed D&RG trains on DSP&P track. I have seen a photograph before of a narrow gauge Union Pacific boxcar on the DSP&P and a narrow gauge AT&SF boxcar on either the D&RG or the D&RGW. As for post 1900s narrow gauge, the C&S was almost completely isolated from the D&RGW, which meant no "lending of cars". The RGS however used almost exclusively D&RGW rolling stock to transport goods, D&RGW cars were always seen on the RGS, but RGS cars were never seen on the D&RGW. A final interesting note is a great deal of equipment from the C&S (a multitude of steel framed boxcars and flatcars) made it to the RGS, but never seemed to leave the Ridgeway yards. So a simple answer is, only the RGS used D&RGW equipment, everything else was pretty isolated. 

-Sean 
Actually, the last bit isn't exactly right, and can create some fun modeling opportunities.

The ex-C&S cars were actually never owned by the RGS. They became property of RGS receiver Victor Miller as settlement for his lawsuit against the C&S. Miller leased them to the RGS for free, essentially, but they were all (most) affixed with cast-iron plates naming him as the owner. When he was no longer receiver of the RGS (after he divorced the judge's daughter--oops!), he then sold the cars. During the time they were on the RGS, some were re-lettered and renumbered for the RGS, but some stayed lettered for the C&S this entire time. (There's a couple of Otto Perry shots of the dismantling of RGS 4-6-0 #25--an earlier photo shows a well-weathered C&S boxcar; a bit later, the engine has lost a number of parts but behind it is a newly painted RGS boxcar!) Some of the cars, especially stock cars, interchanged with the D&RGW as far as Salida and Alamosa. Some "Miller cars" stayed with the RGS up till abandonment, including a stock car body that sat at Dallas Divide into the 1980s!

Also, before the geese, a "normal" RGS passenger train might have a D&RGW baggage car, sometimes a D&RGW RPO, one or more RGS coaches, and sometimes a D&RGW parlor car. In the earlier days, the parlor might be a through car from Salida all the way to Telluride. 

The other RGS/D&RGW interchange (of sorts) was the leasing of locomotives. Most common of course was D&RGW motive power on the RGS, but less well known is that the D&RGW "liked" the RGS's T-19 4-6-0s quite a lot, so there are a few photos of them pulling passenger trains in Montrose and as far afield as Salida, I think. In fact, as a cost-saving measure, one of Miller's first acts as receiver was to stop leasing RGS engines to the D&RGW, since the parent railroad had arranged it so that it could lease RGS engines on the cheap, while charging the RGS higher rates to lease replacements from the D&RGW!

In my tiny backyard layout, I plan on taking full advantage of this! D&RGW freight and passenger cars will be mixed with RGS passenger cars, ex-C&S cars repainted for the RGS, and cars still in C&S livery. Plus D&RGW and RGS locomotives, of course. I even have ideas about weathering a "Miller car" so that underneath the fading RGS paint you can spot glimpses of C&S markings--that's the dream, anyway!


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## Abrech150 (Feb 15, 2014)

The Engineer listed as Kearin, under the Alamosa entry, is my grandfather Walter Kearin. He retired in the 50's, I have an article dated from the early 1920's, when he was doing the Silverton mine run and an avalanche took the train off the track. It took 3 days to get a rescue team up to them. I was pleased to see a reference to him. Thanks 
Michael Kearin


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