C&S Number 5 in Repose at Silver Plume

[Jim Courtney]

I was searching for photos online of the phase 1 stock car at the CRR Museum, when I stumbled upon this, in a Walmart add of all things:




The add describes this photo as "wall art", with this further info: "$12.99*· In stock·Brand: Lantern Press
Free 2-day shipping. Buy Silver Plume, Colorado - #5 Railroad Engine Colorado & Southern (24x36 Giclee Gallery Print, Wall Decor Travel Poster) at ..."

Unfortunately, the item is no longer in stock . . . does anyone actually own one of these 2' x 3' photos?

I would date the photo to about 1911-1913, as the locomotive has the new pneumatic sanders, likely a steel pilot beam. but it still has the old round oil headlight with the horizontal curtain housing atop . . . but it doesn't yet have a "Como" spark arrestor. And what a great view for detailing a model locomotive. Note the cabinet on the back wall of the cab, above the firebox door opening, with the attached broom holder!

I believe the location is just to the west of the Silver Plume depot, with the outhouses visible. The Argentine Central grade is clearly visible on the mountain to the south.

[SteveG]

Great find! I searched the Lantern Press site (https://retail.lanternpress.com/) in hope of finding it at source, but no joy.
Might be worth contacting them directly if you're strongly interested?

Steve Guty
Lakeway, TX

[Jim Courtney]

Hey, Steve,

How is your C&S layout coming?

My wife and I hope to get back to Austin later this year to visit family, now that we are both fully vaccinated.

Would love to drive out to Lakeway and see what you're up to.

How far do you live from the Oasis?? Miss their jalapeno cheese fries and the margaritas at sunset.

Jim

[SteveG]

Hey Jim,
Would love to see you and your wife when you're down here, and pick your brain on pre-USSA rolling stock configurations.
We're about  6 miles from the Oasis, and it was one of the reasons Jennifer and I decided on Austin when moving from rainy Redmond.
Let us know when your plans firm up; we're not planning any major travel until next year (a Covid-delayed Baltic cruise, if the current plans stay in place).
Basement in nearly finished, and I've started laying out the panel for the Como roundhouse and approach tracks. Boy, that coal dock eats up some space.
The layout concept is a bit on the minimalist side, to capture the sense of wide open space of the South Park. Here's the current rough sketch:

I figure this can be set up for both multi-operator sessions as well as computer-driven scheduling of trains from the staging areas. Some of those big open spaces will possibly be covered in (removable) stretched fabric rather than hardshell scenery--I'm thinking about the best way to provide the best rendition of the Google Earth views of the openness of the South Park. If holography gets better than the MSFT HoloLens, that's another option.
And I just realized the sketch failed to label Peabody and Halfway on the right, and Jefferson and Kenosha on the bottom and left.

Best regards,
Steve Guty
Lakeway, TX

[Jeff Young]

Hi Steve,

I think your layout plan looks fantastic.  Keep the minimalist approach — it’s the one thing I wish I had given a higher priority to on my layout.

Cheers,
Jeff.

[Jim Courtney]

I agree with Jeff -- your plan devotes a lot of space to capture that "small trains in big open country" look.
Focusing on Como as the primary operations point is also a good idea. You can run trains up to Kenosha, doubling and tripling the hill as necessary. Same with the run up the east side of Boreas.

Much more convincing than stringing as many C&S stations as possible along the main with little separation between. Just my 2 cents . . .

[SteveG]

Thanks, Jim and Jeff!
I figure if there was any ideal spot to watch as many trains as possible on the C&S in the shortest possible time, it would have been either Como (before October 1910) or Denver, and the idea of modelling Denver is way too daunting.
My main concern is how to provide necessary access without having the aisles spoil the 'sense of place', thus the search for non-traditional ways of visually filling the space, say, between the run to Jefferson and the grade to Boreas, without resorting to a 100+ sq ft pop-up access hatch.

[Steve Black]

Steve, that is a great looking plan!  Kudos!

Steve Black

[Robert Stears]

I love this photograph of #5. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Mar 31, 2021, at 3:43 AM, Jeff Young [via C&Sng Discussion Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

 Hi Steve,

I think your layout plan looks fantastic.  Keep the minimalist approach — it’s the one thing I wish I had given a higher priority to on my layout.

Cheers,
Jeff.

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NAML

[Keith Hayes]

Steve, everyone knows that Leadville is THE place to watch C&S
 trains!

[Lee Gustafson]

Keith,

Yes, a great place to watch trains. Thanks for “catching this train” and sharing it with us. Your work is excellent.

Lee Gustafson

[Charles McMillan]

Did anyone notice the person posed on the roof of #5. From the pose , it would appear to be a young lady . Leaning to one side and having a leg crossed underneath the other . Interesting position to pose in any case.

Charles M

[Jim Courtney]

It was until the 3rd or 4th time that I looked at the photo that I noticed the young woman on the cab roof. Her dark dress makes her blend in with the rocks on the adjacent mountainside, above number 5's cab.