Re: C&S "Three Bent Tanks"

Posted by Jim Courtney on Jul 06, 2018; 6:30pm
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/C-S-Water-Tank-at-Blackhawk-and-the-Three-Bent-Water-Tanks-tp11993p12037.html

Okay, times up . . . quiz over. I was just waiting for Chris to "show his work" and post the confirming photo!

I came to the same conclusion as Chris. The location of the photo is at the water tank in lower Blackhawk, where the C&S crossed the North Fork of Clear Creek on a low trestle. The date is December 11, 1913. The event is the only day the C&S rotary plow ever came to Blackhawk.





The photographer is standing on the turntable lead, the C&S pump house to his back. The Gunnel Mill is just out of frame to the right. The depot and Gregory Street are far to the left. The train is standing on the trestle, just beyond the tank, Clear Creek obscured by snow. The trackage here, at this date, is C&S / Gilpin dual gauge.

The photo is deceptive at first, as one doesn't usually associate Clear Creek with rotary snowplows.  But the big blizzard of December, 1913, paralyzed all of the Denver area railroads, including the C&S Clear Creek line. Nothing could move at Central City:




For the only time in the 20th century, the C&S ran a rotary train on the Clear Creek branch. The outfit formed up at Golden, looks like one of the large Baldwin 2-8-0s is the lead engine behind the rotary:




All three photos in Colorado Rail Annual 10, pages 140-141. Evidently they didn't want you to drive your team and wagon on the depot platform. (Some more signs for Jeff's collection!).

The rotary train finally blasted into Blackhawk:




And eventually paused to take water at our little "Three Bent Tank."

The photo of C&S number 6 at the Blackhawk tank, also finally explained this photo for me:





For a long while, I thought this was an earlier photo, with 4 or 5 C&S locomotives clearing the switchback to Central City the tried and true way, by "bucking snow". Never occurred to me that the rotary plow was at the far end of the consist. But I'm convinced this is the same rotary train as at the water tank. The near locomotive, running in reverse, is our C&S number 6 -- note the same headlight and the same odd multi-chime whistle atop the steam dome. (BTW, can you find the C&S water tank in this last photo??).

I've changed the header title for this thread to identify the photo in future searches.