Hello Folks

[D. W. Bassett]

This is my first post to the forum, though i have been reading here for quite a while.  I model in Sn3, both Evil Empire and C&S, circa 1926.  Like Rick used to, I work as a locomotive engineer for the UPRR, though I hired out on the good old Rio Grande.

I have a few unpublished C&S photos to share with you later after i figure out how, but for now I was wondering about the D&RG grade in the Platte Canyon.  What was their objective?  I know the C&S nighthawk branch was more or less a pre-emptive strike against this project.  Since I have found very little about the Nighthawk line as it was abandoned in 1916, can anyone elaborate on Nighthawk or operations on the line?  Was it perhaps originally going to be a Cripple Creek District line?

On an entirely different note, there is a program for train simulator (and lots of videos on youtube) based it seems fairly closely on the C&S clear creek lines  here is one heading towards Blackhawk and then up the switchbacks to Central City.   I've never played TS myself but it looks pretty nice.

Thanks to all,

D. W.

[D. W. Bassett]

So…Being near luddite has its drawbacks...don't know how to embed after posting so I'll do it here.  Enjoy the switchbacks and hope it works!

D. W.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXr7_Oz3ih4>

[Chris Walker]

D.W.,
welcome fellow Enginedriver.

I haven't found the eastern side of this puzzle when I was looking into that question of yours several years ago....but I had found this awesome map which is of the projected lines connecting Salida, also using the Calumet Branch, to link with the (Missing) Platte Canon surveys.  The top right-hand corner  area of this map is the current locations of the Spinney Mountain and Elevenmile reservoirs.




http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p16079coll39/id/258/rv/compoundobject/cpd/263/rec/24

At least that should answer your destination query.

[Jim Courtney]

Hey Dana!

Glad you finally joined us here. How are things in Armour Yellow land?

Darel posted instructions on posting photos in the "stickey" at the top of the Forum main page.

Chris and Jeff taught me to resize my photos (on Paint or other such software). A horizontal width of 1000 to 1250 pixels seems to work best for a .jpg.

When you post the image, don't use the "size" buttons to the right (even "large" seems to limit the image to about 750 pixels wide).  And don't set any right, center or left justification. Just let the image "float".

Look forward to having you join us in the discussion. And I'd love to see any photos of your C&S locomotive projects.

JIm

[Robert McFarland]

Could it be that somewhere in the DPL is lurking a survey map of the DSP&P's designs on Poncha Pass and SW Colorado,or the UP owned DSP&P's  surveys to and past Grand Junction and west of Gunnison toSW Colorado?

[Daniel Frauenhoff]

Page 243 of M.C. Poor's book offers good information regarding the D&RG Platte Canon grade. He states that by 1882 approximately 25 miles had been graded from a junction on the Rio Grande mainline. Some sources state the junction was at Acequia while others place the location roughly 3 miles to the north near Wolhurst.

[Jimmy Blouch]

Daniel Frauenhoff wrote

Page 243 of M.C. Poor's book offers good information regarding the D&RG Platte Canon grade. He states that by 1882 approximately 25 miles had been graded from a junction on the Rio Grande mainline. Some sources state the junction was at Acequia while others place the location roughly 3 miles to the north near Wolhurst.

D&RGW RR records show Acequia up South Platte to Deckers.
Location started February 1879 and completed May 1879
29.7 miles final location.  $190,539.06 expended on grading first 25 miles, work stopped January 30 1882.

Jimmy

[South Park]

  So this work was done long after the South Park was operating
up the Platte Cañon ?  Seeing those two RR's run side-by side in
such a dramatic backdrop with 1882 equipment would have been
quite a piece of eye candy.  

[Don Gustavson II]

Welcome D.W.
Glad to have you here.

[D. W. Bassett]

This seems to be a scraped off line from a time when a Railroad company might grade a line someplace or other just to keep someone else from building there.  A strange and wonderful time in railroad history.  But of course, one must remember that for the men who actually did the work it was never wonderful…just a hard, dirty and nasty way to make a dollar or two and found (if they were lucky) per day.  It was ever thus, except for a brief time in the 40s through the 70s, and then slowly back again.  Thanks for all the replies, fellows!

[chtrout]

Jimmy Blouch wrote

Daniel Frauenhoff wrote

Page 243 of M.C. Poor's book offers good information regarding the D&RG Platte Canon grade. He states that by 1882 approximately 25 miles had been graded from a junction on the Rio Grande mainline. Some sources state the junction was at Acequia while others place the location roughly 3 miles to the north near Wolhurst.

D&RGW RR records show Acequia up South Platte to Deckers.
Location started February 1879 and completed May 1879
29.7 miles final location.  $190,539.06 expended on grading first 25 miles, work stopped January 30 1882.

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy, I tried to send this as an email to you but it bounced...

I was deeply interested in your 2 Mar 2017 entry in the "C&Sng Discussion Forum" in which you provide summary details for the "South Platte Extension" of the D&RG up through Platte Canyon starting in 1879, and discontinued in 1882.

"D&RGW RR records show Acequia up South Platte to Deckers.
Location started February 1879 and completed May 1879
29.7 miles final location.  $190,539.06 expended on grading first 25 miles, work stopped January 30 1882."

As background, I have been conducting detailed research regarding the D&RG grade through the Platte Canyon, and I was extremely interested in your entry.  May I ask what records you are referencing?  Are those records available as a PDF, or an alternative do you have a hard copy?  If you would be willing to share, I of course would be willing to pay all reasonable expenses.

[Jimmy Blouch]

chtrout wrote

Jimmy Blouch wrote

Daniel Frauenhoff wrote

Page 243 of M.C. Poor's book offers good information regarding the D&RG Platte Canon grade. He states that by 1882 approximately 25 miles had been graded from a junction on the Rio Grande mainline. Some sources state the junction was at Acequia while others place the location roughly 3 miles to the north near Wolhurst.

D&RGW RR records show Acequia up South Platte to Deckers.
Location started February 1879 and completed May 1879
29.7 miles final location.  $190,539.06 expended on grading first 25 miles, work stopped January 30 1882.

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy, I tried to send this as an email to you but it bounced...

I was deeply interested in your 2 Mar 2017 entry in the "C&Sng Discussion Forum" in which you provide summary details for the "South Platte Extension" of the D&RG up through Platte Canyon starting in 1879, and discontinued in 1882.

"D&RGW RR records show Acequia up South Platte to Deckers.
Location started February 1879 and completed May 1879
29.7 miles final location.  $190,539.06 expended on grading first 25 miles, work stopped January 30 1882."

As background, I have been conducting detailed research regarding the D&RG grade through the Platte Canyon, and I was extremely interested in your entry.  May I ask what records you are referencing?  Are those records available as a PDF, or an alternative do you have a hard copy?  If you would be willing to share, I of course would be willing to pay all reasonable expenses.

The information came from my personal collection of D&RGW records


Jimmy

[chtrout]

Jimmy Blouch wrote

The information came from my personal collection of D&RGW records

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy,

Wow, in all my years of research involving original D&RG/D&RGW records, I had not seen this particular document before!

What a gold mind of authoritative entries!  Are there more pages?  Is a PDF available, would you be willing to share/sell a copy?  This could be extremely helpful in my many areas of research.  As an example, I am also researching the "Ute Pass Extension," another of the alternate plans in the event the Royal Gorge legal battle did not go in the D&RG's favor.

Also, are there entries for the Lehigh Branch, the Castle Rock Quarries, the Overland Park Branch/Spur, and the Fort Logan Branch?

Thank you so much for sharing, your image has been invaluable to my research.

[Jimmy Blouch]

Two samples




Jimmy

[Robert McFarland]

What about Alicante?

[Jimmy Blouch]

[Jimmy Blouch]

I have been mulling over how to provide you with copies.
I do not know how to create a PDF file.
In any event I would probably need to take the document to a copier.  My large flat bed scanner is just barely not large enough.

Jimmy

[Fritz 52]

Hello!

A I can say is WOW! A veritable gold mine to look into. I love to look at docs like these. Keep on sharing!
Fred Cotterell
C&S Ohio Creek sub.

[chtrout]

Jimmy Blouch wrote

I have been mulling over how to provide you with copies.
I do not know how to create a PDF file.
In any event I would probably need to take the document to a copier.  My large flat bed scanner is just barely not large enough.

Jimmy

Hi Jimmy,

With regard to how to "copy" this entire 28-page document, not only for your own research, but for "sharing" purposes if you are of a mind to do so, among your options would be to take it to your local "Staples" (or similar office supply store) which will often have both large-format flatbed scanners, as well as feed-through scanners for very large documents, such as with the ICC maps and blueprints.  I have used my local Staples extensively for such purposes, and have had excellent results, even with relatively fragile original blueprints.

One of the advantages of having the document in PDF format, you could keep one "clean" copy of the PDF in "as found" format, but then create a "work-copy" PDF which you can then annotate with various comments or footnotes, highlight items of greatest interest, etc.  You can also rearrange entries in those cases where additional entries were added out-of-sequence in a later edition.

In the alternative, if you would be willing to short-term "loan" the original to me, I could scan the entire document for you, also providing you with a high-quality PDF, or if you prefer, a series of JPEG's.  I would of course very promptly return the original to you in perfect condition.  If you would be willing to consider this possibility, I can be reached directly at < [e-mail] >.