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

Posted by Dave Eggleston on Mar 06, 2025; 7:05pm
URL: http://c-sng-discussion-forum.254.s1.nabble.com/Draft-Layout-Plans-Black-Hawk-C-S-Gilpin-Tram-tp20518p20553.html

drgwcs wrote

Yea there is a reason I shifted my date earlier......although with some of the structures not early enough. This era is rather confusing- Machines of Iron has a still of the depot with the ramps in color but it is not dated. The color is pretty bad and grainy. There are however in this and at least a couple of others big beams on the platform. These could either be ties or lumber to rebuild the flume. It would make more sense to unload ties closer to where they would be needed.

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The valuation photo dating I assumed to be correct, just for the fact you would think at least it would be correctly dated??  Some of the wood at the station does look newer but in B&W it is hard to tell. The angle does not show if there is a contrast to the older wood. Do we know why the C&S did the valuation- for abandonment, taxes, road construction etc?  The presence of the crane in one shot is also interesting. It is however definitely not the same one that was in the placer mining pit later- the boom is different. I haven't compared it to the road construction ones yet.

Jim, yes, the assumption is 1939 and I've heard at least once that there is a date somewhere in the file. It appears to be a solid date but until I see the valuation files with my own eyes in the Lepak collection I can't say for sure, in light of the photos that we have and the gaps in information.

There are something like 20-ish photos in books or online from after the flume wash out. Was the damage a single washout or several that were cumulative? I have no idea. It is clear the mainline and some spur tracks were washed out on the west end of the depot. I also note as I look at the photos again that in at least one image a portion of the flume's cover appears to be in place, between the two ramps, despite the depot platform being gone. It is hard to tell but may indicate progressive washout activity.

Those beams on the platform are clearly seen in two Lad Arend photos in Klinger's book, page 105, neatly stacked by size. They look in good condition. Are they from the flume wreckage, or perhaps salvaged from washed out track or part of work fixing the remaining/new spur trackage? These photos are not dated. It is clear the C&S was doing minimal work after the flume blowout to keep the yard functional enough. Emphasis on "enough" and "minimal."

I have one other idea on why they are there--the result of work I've not seen discussed anywhere. The washout was clearly pretty bad and took out things east of the depot down creek. What if the flood washed out the trestle across Clear Creek at the turntable, which put the main onto the north bank? I began to wonder about this based on the Otto Perry and other photos of 1939. By this time the turntable was gone and trains were backed up from Forks. There was no passing siding on the BH branch. In several photos see the train sitting on what looks to be the old State Ore Sampler spur. But if you look closely the track is very well built, actually looking like new. The position and placement of the train in these photos looks very much like this is the track the train arrived on and will leave on. Which has me wondering: Was that trestle by the turntable gone? Are we seeing a new main built from the turntable's location west up Main Street to the depot?

Given how the yard is arranged, with all spurs aligned in the same direction, Blackhawk effectively became the equivalent of a British Inglenook layout. Spurs are the old spur behind the Hay/Feed building and the three on the north side of the depot. Trains were pushed up to Blackhawk, with engine on the east end. The remaining bridge allowed the engine and cars to cross the creek, using the remaining north bank mainline remnant east of the yard as a switching lead. Then it's simply a matter of pulling and pushing cars in see-saw fashion, going back to the mainline and putting it all together with the caboose and heading out of town. Of course conjecture--no maps nor documents show this happened. Just my connecting dots. To help clarify, here's a sketch of how I see Blackhawk in the 1937-1940 period.



As to autos, I know some on the forum know a ton about the period. I'm just not one of them.