Kokomo

[Jeff Young]

Just a quick update to this thread for anyone finding it via search at a later date:

I got my CD containing all the back-issues of "Bogies and the Loop" (the DSP&P Historical Society’s journal).

The first Kokomo article appears in Vol 10, Issue 2 (which has a then-and-now photo montage of the Kokomo depot on the cover).  A lot of the info in that issue has been covered in this email thread, although there is a nice 1885 picture from the Richard Ronzio collection taken from behind the school house that I hadn’t come across before.  It also includes a bit more info on the two previous locations of the depot before the downtown move (so there were likely 4 locations in all), and three additional maps (the 1886 Sanborn Insurance Co one would be of particular interest to pre-1900 modellers, as it contains the downtown D&RG trackage and the footprints of most of the buildings).

Of course after publishing that issue, a bunch more stuff came to light, so they did a “Pictorial Supplement” in Vol 11, Issue 2.  Again, some of the pictures have already appeared in this thread, but it also includes some real gems I hadn't seen before (including a handful of the Wilfley mill at various dates, a nice close-up of the post office in the 60’s, several of the snow sheds and trestles over the D&RG at various dates, a close-up of the hand-car shed and depot in 1942, the White Quail smelter, a close-up of the Senate Saloon, and a couple pre-fire shots of Ten-Mile Avenue).

A third reprisal was made in Vol 12, Issue 2 (titled “If it’s January, it must be Kokomo”), where it is shown that the Kokomo-Walsh smelter we’re familiar with from the DPL is in fact Breen’s Mill on the 1918 ICC maps (and on Todd’s map which appears in this thread).

Cheers,

Jeff.

On 16 Mar 2015, at 16:45, Robert McFarland [via C&Sn3 Discussion Forum] <[hidden email]> wrote:

Underneath the photo in the information section are two columns for posting comments and corrections.

---

If you reply to this email, your message will be added to the discussion below:

http://c-sn3-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Kokomo-tp1652p1794.html

To start a new topic under C&Sn3 Discussion Forum, email [hidden email]
To unsubscribe from C&Sn3 Discussion Forum, click here.
NAML

[Keith Hayes]

...causing one to wonder if the Superintendent at the time was one Mr. Breen?

[Jeff Young]

> ...causing one to wonder if the Superintendent at the time was one Mr. Breen?

Indeed, I was reading that thread.  In fact, there’s a quote in the second “Bogies and the Loop” article to the same effect:

“In many cases smelters changed their names; in other cases they did not abide by the name listed in the articles of incorporation; as a result smelters were sometimes called or known by their owner’s or manager’s names, or the towns where they were located.”

(From “Colorado Smelting and Reduction Works”, by Richard A Ronzio, in “The Denver Westerners Monthly Roundup”, April 1966, Volume XXII, No. 4.)

Cheers,
Jeff.

[Jim Courtney]

Thanks, Jeff, for the additional info.  Looks like I need to order the full set of back issues.

[Chris Walker]

Thanks Jeff,
always good to get some corroboration of facts.

[Chris Walker]

Throwing another log on this fire....


http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/14928/rv/singleitem

[Jim Courtney]

And a couple of more photos to fill out the Kokomo thread, both from Ferrell's C&Sng Colorado & Southern Narrow Gauge:



Kokomo Tank, April 8, 1937, last Leadville to Denver passenger train.  Richard B. Jackson photograph.


Counting the bands, this looks to be a big 47,500 gallon tank.  It appears to be at the same site but on the other side of the tracks when compared to the smaller tank in the photos in the posts above.

Keith, note the "Monkey tail" and the signal hose hooked up on the safety chain hook of the coach.




Dated 1924, Climax Molybdenum Company.


OK, so it's not Kokomo, but it does demonstrate another un-rebuilt D&RG 3000 series boxcar in the cut of cars on the Climax siding, as late as 1924.

[Jeff Young]

Just to tie this in with the "Color Blind" thread, the George Diary picture (1913, depot downtown) shows the Kokomo depot in high-contrast, suggesting the grey/green colour scheme.

The mid-20's pictures (depot on the mainline) from the "Recen Collection" show a middling contrast, so they're somewhat unhelpful.  Never-the-less, they look more like high contrast than low (particularly the car-body shed, which appears quite close to the colour of the snow behind it), so I'm guessing the depot was still grey/green after the move.

The post-abandonment (1939, 1940 and 1946) pictures from "Bogies and the Loop" show the depot heavily weathered, but with lighter colour on the top half of the building.  If we assume the upper half would be protected by the overhanging roof, then the light colour is the paint and the darker lower half is bare wood.  This would suggest the Kokomo depot never got the Q colour scheme.

Interestingly, the hand-car shed and car-body sheds are both much darker at this point, suggesting they did get the red/green.

Anyone have more info?

Cheers,
Jeff.

Addendum 26 June 2016: A friend showed me a 1939 colour photo he has, and the depot has very dark trim (presumably green).  The walls have lost more and more paint the farther down you go, with the tops showing mostly grey, the middle mostly red, and the bottoms mostly bare wood.  The northern boxcar shed has red trim, with tar-paper-covered walls.  The rear boxcar shed and the handcar shed are not visible.

[Jim Courtney]

http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.co0029/photos.311634p

Jeff, be sure to accommodate the Masons in your version of Kokomo.

Cheers,
Jim

[Chris Walker]

Photo taken in 1941, which ties in with her other pictures yet labled 1963 for some strange reason.
http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/2783/rv/singleitem/rec/97

[Jim Courtney]

A beautiful photograph of an iconic structure!  Paul Simon was wrong--everything doesn't "look worse in black and white".

[Chris Walker]

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/84156/rv/singleitem/rec/25

[Jim Courtney]

Looks like both bridges on the C&S "downtown" spur are still standing.  This should help Jeff to scenic his HOn3 version of Kokomo.

[Jeff Young]

I had to compress one of the bridges out as I didn’t have room.  

But it’s nice to get some prototypical colours for the buildings.  Too bad there’s no reefer in the picture. ;)

Looks like both bridges on the C&S "downtown" spur are still standing.  This should help Jeff to scenic his HOn3 version of Kokomo.

[Jim Courtney]

I've been "purging" the hard drive of my old computer of any misfiled photos and found these two of the Kokomo snow shed, to add to this old but incredible thread:








I'm sorry, but I have no clue as to where I found them or the identity of the photographer.  If any of you can reference these photos, please do so.

Jim

[Jeff Young]

Hi Jim,

Both were published in the Jan 2010 Bogies and the Loop: the one with the trestle was attributed to Richard Kindig, while the one with just the snowshed was unattributed.

Cheers,

Jeff.

[Keith Hayes]

I see Mr. Young's drawings of the Kokomo depot are published in the latest issue of the Gazette!

Congratulations, Jeff.

[Jeff Young]

Thanks, Keith.  Still waiting for my copy to get across the pond....

Cheers,
Jeff.

[Keith Hayes]

Jim, this looks more like the Solitude tank, judging from the mountains in the background and the width of the valley.

Where was the C&S Kokomo water tank? There is mention of it, but no photos.

Also, Jeff, since you did the nice drawings of the D&RG depot, did you also draw the C&S depot? Looks like an upcoming modeling project for me!

[Chris Walker]

Where was the C&S Kokomo water tank? There is mention of it, but no photos.

Keith, on page 2 of this thread  http://c-sng-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Kokomo-tp1652p1767.html