Kokomo

[South Park]

  Always happy to share intel about telegraph/phone/power line tech/
history.  For as important as it was to steam era railroading and related
industry, and all the trouble modelers go to to get things prototypically
"right", this is one area largely ignored.

[Jim Courtney]

Dave, in his recent thread on the GSL&P (http://c-sng-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Help-identifying-a-baggage-car-td13371.html#a13399) clued us all in to the photos online at the Boulder Public Library.

Included in the library's photos is the A.A. Paddock collection: https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A218.

I spent a snowy morning yesterday going through the photos, most are of Boulder railroads and surrounds. I did pick out a few C&S views that I hadn't seen before.

For all you Kokomo-istas:

https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A59668?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=45e3faabd75de4e18b3d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=5


The view is sometime after the depot was moved from its downtown location to up to the C&S mainline. Note the fresh coat of paint in grey and green, and that the spur to downtown looks well maintained. The presence of the train order board shows the Kokomo depot is still an open depot. Note that there is only one outfit car body at this point, behind the depot, the C&S block lettering still intact. Now Jeff knows how to model the road from Kokomo proper up to the depot.


Another view, looking south to the snow shed in the cut:

https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A59670?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=45e3faabd75de4e18b3d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=5



The photos may date from the early 1920's, as there are a couple of other C&S snow related photos in the collection, probably in lower Ten Mile canon:

https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A59674?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=45e3faabd75de4e18b3d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=5



https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A59666?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=45e3faabd75de4e18b3d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=5



https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A59672?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=45e3faabd75de4e18b3d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=5



Looks like the rotary got its blades badly damaged, from plowing into a snow slide riddled with boulders and tree trunks.


Finally, here is a great photo of C&S 10 in the snow:

https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A59664?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=45e3faabd75de4e18b3d&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=5



This photo must be much earlier, sometime between the new lettering scheme with number on cab (c.1906) and before USSA grab irons were relocated on the boxcar (c.1914-1916). The lack of a "Como" spark arrestor on the stack suggests prior to 1912.

And the first car in the passenger train behind number 10 looks to be one of the RPO-baggage cars 10-11-12 before rebuilding . . .

[Jeff Young]

OUTSTANDING, Jim!

Note also the telegraph line passing in front of the depot with a 90º arm which feeds the line to the pole by the handcar shed.  And the electric line heading from the high-tension tower off to the right and the White Quail mill.

In the snow shed photo we can see another pole of the electric line to the far left, which then crosses the telegraph line behind the snowshed (note the two poles together just to the right of the shed: the left is the telegraph line while the right is the electric).

And who would have guessed that there was reasonably fresh lettering on the box car bodies?

[John Greenly]

Jim,

wonderful find, thanks!!

Did you find a way to zoom in on the image on the library site?  I can't see the things Jeff points out.  And I don't understand what I'm seeing of the car body behind the depot.  Is the car body length oriented uphill away from the back of the depot?  It looks like the S of C&S is near the left end of the car, and it's down at the bottom of the car side?

thanks!!
John

[Jeff Young]

Hi John,

Did you get the telegraph pole cross-arms I sent?  (Apologies if you already let me know somewhere else and I missed it….)

Cheers,
Jeff.

[Jim Courtney]

John,

Can't see anyway to zoom the Library photos -- perhaps Dave can help us out. I would't mind purchasing a high res copy of the depot photo.

The outfit car visible is the one behind the depot, perpendicular to the mainline.

C&S outfit cars in block lettering days, carried the monogram in different sizes, on the left lower side of the car, beneath any windows.

Here are two outfits at the rear of the train at Grant, c.1912:


In the Klingers' C&S Platte Canon Memories . . .


The Gothic "Colorado & Southern" in a small font below the initials seems optional . . .

[John Greenly]

Jim,

how do you remember where things are in photos so well?  I vaguely thought I had seen outfit cars with lettering like that, but I sure didn't remember that they were in that photo of caboose 2009 with no ladder.

Anyway, blowing up the image you posted, I can see that the car body has a door with a window symmetrically on either side.  Assuming the car body is situated with respect to the depot as in the photo Jeff posted up-thread (the one that shows it end-on from behind the depot), and that the door is about in the middle of the car,  I calculate that length of the car is most likely 26 or 27 ft, not 30 ft.  Since I thought in our previous discussion up-thread that the end fascia is peaked, not rounded, that makes it likely a Litchfield 26 ft car.  Good!  that gives me an excuse to build one of those!  

thanks!
John

yes, I'm going to look into getting a hi-res version of the photo.

[John Greenly]

Hi Jeff,

yes, I sure did, and I can't believe I forgot to tell you, and say thanks so much!!!  They are excellent, and will be a lifetime supply for my modest layout ideas!

Cheers, and apologies,
John

[Jeff Young]

No worries, John.  Just would have hated if the mail had lost something with little value but high difficultly in replacement. ;)

[Keith Hayes]

Kokomo now has a scenic base and a train order board. I realize the real location didn't have an active agent or an order board during the period I model, but I thought it might add some operational interest.

The order board is a Grandt part which, with some careful drilling can be made to rotate. I added a leg in the vertical rod which may allow me to operate the signal with a switch master at a future date.