Robin Bowers and I left Salida and drove north to Buena Vista, our first stop of the morning.
St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern caboose 157, built by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1890 which became Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 14634 in 1904 then Burlington Northern 11086 in 1970. The current rendition is in honour of a local railroad, the Colorado Midland, although they never owned it.
Denver, Leadville and Gunnison station, which became Denver, South Park and Pacific and was moved to this location in 2003. From here we drove to Breckenridge to the Highline Railroad Park.
Replica of Colorado and Southern caboose 1012.
Colorado and Southern box car 8323, built by the railroad in 1910.
Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railroad rotary snowplough 1 built as a coal-burner by Cooke Locomotive Works in Paterson, New Jersey for the White Pass and Yukon Railway in 1901. It was converted to an oil-burner sometime between 1953 and 1956 and moved to Denver in 1988, where in underwent repairs. Six months later, it was relocated to Breckenridge. It is one of only five known narrow-gauge rotaries still in existence.
Colorado & Southern 2-6-0 9, nee Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad 72, built by Cooke Locomotive & Machine Works in 1884. In 1885, it was re-numbered 114 then in a corporate sale, became Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railway Company 114 in 1889. That railway was consolidated ten years later to become Colorado & Southern Railway Company 9. In 1957, it was Leased to Black Hills Central Railroad Company at Hill City, South Dakota until purchased by the Colorado Historical Society in 1988. Uhrich Locomotive of Strasburg, Colorado restored 9 in time for the 2006 Georgetown Loop operating season. However, it proved too small for that operation and, after two seasons it was moved to Breckinridge, where it is on static display at the Rotary Snowplow Park.
Denver and Rio Grande Western flat car 6212, built by the railroad in 1918.
Highline Railroad Park scene. From here we went back to Fairplay to visit the South Park City Museum, paying $10, and it was well worth it.
The ore is dumped into this gondola.
Denver and Rio Grande Western side dump gondola 794, nee Denver and Rio Grande 734, built by American Car and Foundry in 1904.
Denver and Rio Grande Western stock car 5525, built by American Car and Foundry in 1904.
The station building.
Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad narrow gauge 2-6-0 22, built by H.K. Porter in 1914 for International Railways of Central America's subsidiary the Compania de Agricola de Guatemala, recently taken over by the United States-owned United Fruit Company. Trackage rights were granted to CAG to operate its banana trains over International Railways of Central America lines and 39 was probably transferred to the line at this time. IRCA also undertook to operate CAG's trains and maintain its locomotives and rolling stock with CAG reimbursing IRCA for the costs.
In 1955, the US Supreme Court, in a lawsuit filed by minority IRCA shareholders, declared the arrangements illegal and forced the fruit company to sell its shares in the railroad and compensate the shareholders. In 1965, United sold its Guatemalan interests to Del Monte. That year, 39 was sold to the South Park Historical Foundation, brought back to the United States and restored as Denver, South Park & Pacific 22 for display at the South Park City Museum.
The water tower.
Denver and Rio Grande Western box car 3555, built by American Car and Foundry in 1904.
Denver and Rio Grande Western stock car 5785, nee Denver and Rio Grande 5765, built by American Car and Foundry in 1904.
Denver and Rio Grande Western caboose 0517, built by the railroad in 1920.
The display train.
Park City main road.
A steam tractor.
Alma Queen Mine.
The track for loading the railroad cars.
Beautiful views.
The main road of South Park City before we filled the car with petrol and drove to Cripple Creek.
Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge RailroadOn June 28th , 1967, Dr. John M. Birmingham opened the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad for business. The CC&V RR has been carrying passengers ever since. The Railroad has always been a family business, now operated and managed by John’s son, Jim and his family. John Birmingham was born into a railroad family, his father was an engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad and also his grandfather. In 1965 he purchased two locomotives from the Climax Molybdenum mine of Colorado. They were located in Mexico, one was fully operational the second was 60 percent through a major overhaul. John spent a lot of spare time and vacations to build the railroad, he had help from his friends and family.
The gift shop and ticket office now next to the original Cripple Creek Midland Depot was rescued from the old Midland Terminal line, Originally built in 1894 as the Anaconda station, was moved to Bull Hill after the fire of 1904 destroyed most of Anaconda. It was moved to its present location in 1968. It was impossible to still find a water tower so John had one made of wood by Denver Tank and Reel and moved to its present location. Today we use three of the narrow gauge locomotives during the summer season. All are coal-fired two foot Narrow Gauge Locomotives. The Number 1 is a Orenstein and Koppel built in 1902 0-4-4-0 articulated mallet. The Number 2 engine is a Henschel built in 1936 0-4-0, built in Germany. The Number 3 is a Porter built in 1927 0-4-0 tank engine. The Number 4 engine is the Bagnall built in 1947 0-4-4-0T, this engine is currently being restored. Besides the four passenger engines the Railroad owns another locomotive. One is a 1951 General Electric, four wheel, Diesel-Electric engine, originally battery operated for underground work at the Idarado Mine near Telluride. The engine is currently being used by the track crew.
The Midland Terminal station built in 1894 which was moved from Anaconda.
Hanseatische Kieswerke 0-4-0T 2 built by Henschel and Son in 1948, then sold to Arthur Seifert in Hilliard, Florida in 1967 and later to Joe Pettingill in Estes Park, Colorado. The Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad purchased it in 1970.
Robin and I would be riding behind this locomotive at 11:00, but first, we had to photograph the 10:30 train.
That train had 0-4-0T 3 leading it.
We boarded the 11:00 train and soon departed.
The historic locomotives of this tourist line.
Compania de Minerales & Metales SA 0-4-4-0 compound Mallet built by Orenstein & Koppel in Germany in 1902 for Guillermo Purcell in La Terminal, Mexico. It stayed with the company through various mergers and consolidations until 1964, when it was sold to John Birmingham in Boulder, Colorado, then becoming Cripple Creek & Victor 1.
Reynolds Brothers Sugar Company 0-4-4-0 4 built by Bagnall in 1953. It is one of only two surviving Bagnall locomotives in the country, both of which were built for Tongaat Hulett Sugar in Natal, South Africa and neither of which actually operated for an American railroad. Named "Nonoti", 4 later became Darnell Sugar Estates "Mbozana" and then Reynolds Brothers Sugar Company 13 in Sezala, South Africa in 1967.
The two of us departed Cripple Creek and drove to Royal Gorge Park.