Mystery Water Tank

[Jim Courtney]

Great detective work, Dave!

Horseshoe makes sense as a location for a water tank, as the steepest grades were to the west.

There are two very annoying things about our favorite little narrow gauge railroad:
1. There is a huge void in documentary information about the C&S and its predecessors.
2. The documentary information that did survive very often is contradictory.

Take the Alma water tank. I rechecked my set of 1918 ICC maps and, sure enough, no water tank is indicated at Alma.
But the 1922 Employee's timetable indicates water is available at Alma. And the January, 1929, DWB Special photo posted above shows the water tank still standing, looks to be in working order.

Anyway, this has been a great thread, thanks Jeff, for posting the photo of "Horseshoe Tank".

[Chris Walker]

Jeff,

did you not see the little boy hold the mans hand?

Jim,

Alma's tank is listed in Poor's DSP&P and the B&B Book, but under the name London Junction.

Dave,

re: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Mystery-Water-Tank-tp19563p19586.html
thanks for that mention of those volumes.  After checking via Abe Books, I now remember seeing those on the shelves at Caboose Hobbies on one of my trips.  I failed to purchase given the number of works I have on the S.P., just how many histories do I need on the South Park Line anyway.  The answer to that(in hindsight) was, All of Them!

[Dave Eggleston]

Chris,

You're absolutely correct, we need all of them!  I find that all have some revelation not found elsewhere.

I only have the Edwards volumes focused on the Gunnison Division as that's my main SP interest but I should get the others for the insights on equipment they'll provide, especially as recently I've fallen into the 1878-1880 boom rabbit hole. For those of us who've not been able to get time to visit the various archives for a deep dive, Edwards is a good toe into the water.

Beyond archival info, he adds articles from newspapers not found online. I often start with a revelation found in his book and then dive into the online papers to hunt for more detail. The combination of his volumes with the online CO newspapers and LOC newspapers online have become critical resources and have changed a few long-held assumptions.