Steam Locomotives of the big Thompson water project on that temporary railroad

[ROMO]

Greetings once more, it’s Andrew Wolf here, and I am in search of photographs, maps, and postcards related to the Steam Locomotives involved in the Big Thompson Water Project, specifically from that quaint little temporary railroad. I understand this temporary railroad may not be the main focus of this discussion group, but I have a feeling it could be relevant to some of you.

I am aware that you all cover tourist and also commercial railroads, train museums, and heritage lines, but I'm uncertain if any of you deal with temporary train lines. If you do, could you assist me? Additionally, where might I locate a Steam Locomotive from the Big Thompson Water Project? I also need information on locomotive rosters, whether they are steam or not, pertaining to this project. Did the Big Thompson Water Project's train line ever utilize cabooses? If so, could I obtain photographs of those too, and where could I find them?

Moreover, I require maintenance-of-way equipment rosters, along with lists of rolling stock, including both passenger and freight cars, as well as mail cars associated with the Big Thompson Water Project temporary railway. I recall seeing at least one photograph of a steam locomotive from this project in the Big Thompson Canyon.

That particular image depicted the view from the cab of the charming little steam locomotive, looking out toward the lengthy temporary train tracks in the big Thompson Canyon ahead. I have been trying to track it down again, but it's been so many years since I first encountered it. If anyone here has knowledge about this photograph, I would greatly appreciate your assistance in locating it. The old photograph and also posting it on my post it on this post was in black-and-white, but I need your help to acquire not only black-and-white images but also colorized and colored photographs, as well as maps and postcards related to this topic.

I understand if temporary railways may not be 1 the main interest of the C&Sng Narrow Gauge Discussion Forum, as I haven’t come across any posts about temporary train lines. I sincerely hope you all are willing to assist me, even if temporary train companies aren't the primary focus here. Thank you for your help over the many years. Best regards, Andrew Wolf.

[Todd Hackett]

I wasn't aware that the Colorado Big Thompson Project had a temporary railroad. I worked for the Bureau of Reclamation (the agency that built the project and still manages some parts of it) many years ago, and had some involvement on elements of that project, but there are many parts that I'm don't know as much about. The project included a pump station on the west slope, a tunnel, and a series of pipelines, canals, pump stations and powerplants from the tunnel to Estes Park, to Loveland and beyond. What is your source indicating that the project had a temporary railroad, and which part of the project used it?

Use of a temporary railroad during construction did happen. The builders of Barker Dam in Nederland built a railroad to bring materials from a connection with the Colorado and Northwestern at Sulfide Flats near Eldora to the dam site. This photo shows some of the contractor's equipment at the dam site, on the reservoir side of the dam:



The U. S. Reclamation Service (original name of the Bureau of Reclamation) apparently used a temporary railroad at least once, during construction of Arrowrock Dam in Idaho. This photos shows that they apparently even had at least one locomotive lettered for the agency. This would have been a couple of decades before the Colorado Big Thompson project started.



This shows actual construction at Arrowrock using the temporary railroad:

[ROMO]

I appreciate that this temporary train route was utilized to assist in exiting the tunnels, specifically the one at Mary's Lake, as well as Lake Granby, where a train yard existed in the Big Thompson Canyon. The little trains had difficulty climbing the Big Thompson Canyon and were located underneath Rocky Mountain National Park, eventually reaching the Grand Lake side from the Estes Park side. That old and historic image from the steam locomotive cab, taken while looking up the Big Thompson Canyon, in the big Thompson Canyon holds a special significance for me, and I sincerely hope someone everyone anyone can assist me.

Additionally, there was a train yard and a machine shop dedicated to locomotive equipment and rolling stock. I genuinely hope that someone will come across that old, historic photograph, which was in black and white. I recall discovering it on a website somewhere in the early to mid-2000s. I urge everyone to continue searching for any photographs, whether in color or black and white, of steam engines on the Big Thompson water project. Signed, Andrew Wolf.