Re: Draft Layout Plans: Black Hawk C&S / Gilpin Tram

Posted by Dave Eggleston on Mar 03, 2025; 9:15pm
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Draft-Layout-Plans-Black-Hawk-C-S-Gilpin-Tram-tp20518p20543.html

Martin,

Since you're dealing with the 1930s, consider that the Hay/Feed business may not so much be changing color as the paint is gone. I can't confirm this but given that Central and Blackhawk were declining rapidly before WWI. Yes, there were spurts of activity during and after the war, but it was just that.

As far as I can tell, the lumberyard was never served by the spur behind the Hay dealer. Now, modeler's license is perhaps to step in and add it but I'd say in the real world of the C&S that any spur went through a great deal of financial deliberation, especially in the end-of-times period you're dealing with. I would bet that it's more likely that the lumber, if at all shipped by rail, a car would be spotted on the too-short spur and then simply offloaded the extra 20' of walking. It would actually make for more interesting and prototypical operation, and visually reduce clutter in the scene, if you ended the spur at the Hay dealer. Crews might have to deal with a flat of lumber that's on the spur partially unloaded when they have to drop a car. Worth considering.

I'm not advocating cluttering things or creating operational hurdles, but more focus on how the prototype worked, which would include "sharing" spurs between businesses that likely low traffic, even using them as team tracks.

As to fuel/oil. Central was the focus for this business into the 1920s. If a dealer or dump were in Blackhawk, I've not seen evidence--but it might be there. In the very final years, after 1933 and definitely by 1938, there are two photos showing a tank car sitting on the spur that served the Gilpin mill, or possibly an extension of the one that served the beer warehouse. These both can be found in Abbott's book on the Colorado Central. It is *possible* that once the branch to Central was out of operation in the '20s that an offload operation to fill trucks was squeezed in between structures. Again, the level of oil traffic after WWI was likely not busy and very possibly was simply to get it into several trucks to move to more convenient locations rather than a permanent tank on location in the yard (which would cost the distributor potentially more than the business warranted). At best I would guess a single tank car came into town on an infrequent basis. But it's also possible that oil and petroleum products, in drums and cans, came in boxcars and were offloaded on one of the many unused (or lightly used) spurs around the station, again for movement to a more convenient warehouse/distribution point. Again, traffic without a massive footprint on a shared spur leaving space.

If you can't tell, I'm an advocate, especially in the final years, of the line using what it had rather than building something new unless it brought $$$$$. Team tracks are unsung operational heros for modelers--they don't have to be even dedicated as such but can be spurs that don't have much traffic.

Dave Eggleston