Oh cool. Yeah, all the rail lines in the San Juans were narrow gauge, the Farmington Branch being a temporary exception (after it was built standard it was soon converted to narrow). The Rio Grande had a line from Montrose into Ouray. That was likely the bed you saw. As you probably know, Ridgway was the northern end of the Rio Grande Southern, and had its own shops there. The RGS connected to the rest of the Rio Grande there back in the day (as well as in Durango).
LOL probably safe to say, most of the rail lines in the colorado mountains were narrow gauge except the Denver and Salt Lake (which Rollins Pass is so cool), the Colorado Midland (IIRC), and the Rio Grande from Pueblo to Salida to Grand Junction/Salt Lake. Salida was the Rio Grande's conversion point from standard to narrow and had that famous three track stuff you have probably seen on Mike Lehman's excellent layout.
When we were on the bus trip, I got south of Ridgeway and could see abandoned road bed. I wasn't sure at the time if this was narrow or standard gauged track as I wasn't sure that the narrow gauge went to Ouray. I can also see road bed for the RGS in Google Earth, which is fun to follow.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Sounds like a great trip. People like us, we can spot where the old RR beds are! Most normal people dont even give it a thought. I have checked out some of the Ophir loop high line. But we're always in a rush to get through somewhere. One of these days I'll spend a day or so there climbing around and photographing the grade through there, spectacular!
Cheers,
e
It could be that is what the box cars are for, hauling peoples back packs and other gear.
Next time I'm in the area, I will be riding the Cumbres & Toltec and likely take the D&S from Durango to Silverton, to hear the loco work a bit harder. I also hope to follow the RGS right of way from Durango to Ridgeway. I have ordered the book "Chasing the Rio Grande" by Robert Richardson. I look forward to studying this railroad. I would laso love to spend a night or two in Ouray.
What great photographers who took those...
Yeah the goose is a special thing. I believe it lives in Delores CO?
I think in the photo special trains the extra boxcars are probably so the passengers get a feel for freight action. Some of the photo specials are all freight cars. In the regular service trains (IIRC) there is a boxcar for backpacks. Could be they are hauling something else though. We have used the train on a couple backpack trips. You can flag down any train and they will pick you up (after you pay of course). Throw your backpack in the boxcar and go. LOL its been awhile but I remember tossing our backpacks somewhere! I think they do drop off and pick up a number of people who backpack into Chicago Basin and climb Mt Eolus, Sunshine, and Windom, 14,000 ft peaks.
Another great bunch of photos e-c-mills, I like photo # 7, as it shows loco #486, the loco that pulled my train.
I noticed when seeing my own and the other trains being pulled that the D&S seems to use idler cars in front of every train to put the loco farther ahead on the passenger cars. I wondered if this was to get the passenger cars a little farther away from the smoke and cinders and/or is freight actually being shipped to Silverton?
I did not see a Rio Grande Southern Goose anywhere along the D&S right of way. the photo of the goose must have been a special event.
Hmm, threads merged, I guess, oh well?
I cant resist posting these from railpictures.net. Call it 1:1 modelling inspiration? I dug these out so you dont have to. Back to the D&S!
Steven Otte Threads merged.
Threads merged.
Yes, the threads have been merged; but, placed where my comment was, did not follow the continuity of this thread. So the comment that I made on October 20th was removed as it was out of context here in this thread.
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Thanks yeah, I thought, wow...
Those are from Peru. Click on them and go to railpictures.net. There are some real great photos of the D&S from photographers specials as well. (Nice pics form all over actually).
I Live in Farmington south of Durango. Most of the primary economy in the entire area is oil, gas, and coal extraction. Thats number one. Then I would have to say tourism, the college, then ranching / agriculture. I beleive metals mining in this area is pretty much idle right now. Fort Lewis College in Durango is a 4 year liberal arts college which I interact with regularly. I'm meeting with a fellow chemistry prof today in fact.
There is a lot of coal here in the four corners (and uranium as well). There is planning going on to build a rail line up from Gallup New Mexico to haul out coal mainly. I think 50/50 it might be built. This would be the ironic culmination of the original line that ran from Farmington to Durango to keep the Santa Fe at bay (IIRC or was it the Soutern Pacific?) away from the coal fields (which for some reason, the Rio Grande did not end up exploiting). The Farmington branch was originally standard gauge then converted to narrow gauge. My avatar shows an engine at the Colorado New Mexico border on the Farmington branch heading north to Durango. At first the Farmington branch hauled a lot of apples (called the red apple express). Then, oil, and pipeline supplies as Mike L. could probably tell you. The oil found in the San Juan Basin pretty much kept the narrow gauge alive from Alamosa, to Chama, to Durango, to Farmington back in the 1950s to 60s.
Regards,
Eric
If you go to www.Railpictures.net and put in "Peru" for the country in the search section,there are more shots of this...thanks -E-C-Mills.
Mike
I've had the luck to have attended two National Narrow Gauge Conventions in the area, the first in Denver in 2003 and the second in Durango in 2006. Went with two friends both times, and each time we took trips on the D&S and the Cumbres & Toltec too.
In 2006 I had an early Kodak digital camera that also took video, and I shot some on the D&S. Wasn't the greatest for video, would not keep focus when zooming, and the zooming was jerky. But I was pleased with the overall scenes I took.
I put the videos on YouTube, will supply links here if anyone is interested. We took the trip to Silverton, and also drove there too, to see the site with more time. The first video was shot on an overcast day with light rain falling, but we were able to seek shelter in the former station across from the original one. Here you'll see the two train shuffling around the town:
http://youtu.be/3thomY6Yd6Y
On the last day of the convention in Durango I picked up my photo contest entries and was pleased to find my black and white photo took first place in the model contest. With the win, I got two tickets for the special afternoon double header train to Silverton. But since there were three of us we couldn't take the trip, and we'd already been on it earlier in the week. Couldn't find anyone to give the tickets to, so they are a part of my souvenirs of the trip. We chose to follow the train and take photos along the way.
The lead engine left Durango separately, and waited for the rest of the train in Hermosa Springs. My video shows the train leaving, and arriving in Hermosa Springs and coupling to the lead engine. Hear the whistle echoing through the hills as the double header leaves on its journey:
http://youtu.be/y31i6T1byVQ
I also shot some video of another train leaving Durango, and a brief bit on the operating "Galloping Goose" railtruck in Rigeway - the protoype of the Bachmann On30 model: http://youtu.be/WGdq3KJ9CDw
Keep in mind I was also shooting digital still photos with the same camera, and alternated between video and stills most of the time. It was a trip of a lifetime!
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
Thanks for posting,Bob. I enjoyed the videos,also many of your others,especially "Cumbres and Toltec","Glacier Bay" and "White Pass and Yukon" videos. 'Looks like you were really on the go in 2006.
Boy I wonder what the grade is in that fourth shot. Could just be the camera angle, but if you look behind along the left side of the canyon it sure seems to drop fast. Great pic's. Thanks.
Edit: I blew it up a bit and noticed a tunnel portal in the distance. It appears the track on the left goes there.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
-E-C-Mills,
Now those are some really fantastic shots. Thanks for sharing!
Take Care!
Frank
Where were these photos taken EC? I agree those are pretty dramatic scenes!
Certainly Silverton owes a large portion of it's yearly income to the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. However, I wonder how much of Durango's annual income is generated by the D.&S. N.G. R..R?
Durango has a population just under 17,000. There is a ski area close by (we stayed there). The town is the largest town near Mesa Verde National Park. There is a collage there and the area is a huge outdoor recreation area. The D&RGW RR started the town and as well as it having been an engine service facility to the D&RGW's narrow gauge, it was also an end terminal for the Rio Grande Sothern Narrow Gauge, when that line was in operation. My guess is that mining for gold and silver might still play a part in the towns income.
I found Durango to be a very active place with traffic problems during rush hour similar to larger metro areas. If I lived there, I would own a Jeep as back country four wheelings would be high on my list of things to do there.
All the locos and rolling stock are pretty much form all over on my layout. But mostly, I like any road that worked or works through mountains. Caboose and loco need not match. And speakinng of global, here is some mountain railroading that is pretty unreal in my book!
Boy do I agree with you BATMAN, mountain railroading is what gets me going!
zstripeWe do live in a Beautiful country, too bad a lot of people never leave the block.
I agree except for me it applies to the whole planet.
If it weren't for being awestruck at the ability of railroads all over the world to punch lines through once thought "impregnable mountain ranges", I think my interest in MRR would be a little less enthusiastic.
Mark,
Back when I started in HO around 51/52, 9-10 age, John Allen's layouts also gave me the bug. It was logging layouts though and I just loved the scenery part. I bet I had every logging kit that Suydam made when My paper route money was rolling in, LOL. I hated collection day, the people that were the first to complain, were the one's that wouldn't answer their door on that day. I built a small logging layout in our basement and then started to migrate to loving trucks, so along came the narrow winding roads.
Mountain driving and scenery in my opinion is best viewed from the seat of a cabover tractor trailer. Ask My Son's they will attest to that. My son Pete, He's 40 now, when He went with me to CA from Chgo,( My normal run) when we got in the mountains, like Donner's pass, Cabbage 6 3/4% grade up/down, He would sit on the dog house, cause when He looked out the window, all He could see was down. We do live in a Beautiful country, too bad a lot of people never leave the block.
Nuff! Rambling.
The last time I checked your thread, that's what I saw, the anti virus messages. So I posted this new one.
Someone must have complained about the two off topic posts here in this thread about credit cards and Antivirus programs. Gosh, I thought these threads were just sort of off handed conversations between friends! I guess some pretty petty stuff happens on Internet Forums!
So, as I have stated in a few posts above and in the other thread I have started looking into building a narrow gauge layout in Sn3. I have also been looking my present layout over and have determined that what I have is pretty much like a narrow gauge line, I have just used standard gauge and because I have a deep interest in the Northern Pacific, that is the line I have modeled. I will freely admit that John Allen was some of the inspiration for my layout. I love trestles, bridges, tunnels and perching the railroad on some shear cliffs. I find these dramtic effects to my liking. Although the equipment on my layout is N.P. there really is no basis in reality for what I've modeled.
I started with an American Flyer train set when I was 6-7 years old. I got into HO around 10 and have been very happy with HO, over the past 25 years I've been building this layout. Maybe it's time for a change, maybe it isn't. We shall see!
jecorbitt, it sounds like you had an interesting trip, albeit a little more exciting than I would like!
The removed post that was here, was taken from another thread started by someone else about the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge RR. It was out of context and made no sense here in this thread, so I removed it.
That was excellent Bob. Thanks for posting. For someone wanting to make a steam excursion as a destination where does the D&S rank. It just looks awsome.
I did the D&S last year as part of my bucket list tour. I crossed 5 items off the list. I live in Ohio and had a niece graduating from college in the Phoenix area and her brother graduating from high school. My brother was throwing a joint party for the two of them so I decided to drive out. #1 was to drive a significant portion of the old Route 66 highway. I wish I could have done it in a 62 Corvette ala the 1960s TV series, but my Miata was a decent subsitute. I picked up the highway just west of St. Louis and drove as far as Williams, AZ.
From Williams I rode the Grand Canyon Railroad to the South Rim where I spent parts of two days before taking the return train back to Williams, crossing off item #2 in the process. Whatever you have heard about the Grand Canyon, words cannot do it justice. You have to see it. It should be on everyone's bucket list.
I drove down to Phoenix for the graduation party, then took off for item #3, Four Corners. I did all the goofy stuff folks do at that geographical oddity, which almost proved to be my undoing.
From there I headed to Durango for item #4, riding the D&S. When I got to Durango, I discovered my wallet was missing. I guessed correctly that I had lost it at Four Corners, probably while spread eagling with a hand or foot in four different states at one time. Fortunately my room was prepaid and I had kept some emergency cash seperate from my wallet. I called the credit card company and asked them to send a replacement to my next stop, my old home town of Omaha that I was going to visit for only the second time since our family moved away in 1966. The ride to Silverton and back was magnificent. Got lots of great pictures. Silverton itself is a real tourist trap. $9 for a hot dog and a Coke. It was a good hot dog, but it wasn't a $9 hot dog.
After returning to Durango, I headed east over the Continental Divide. I calculated that I had enough cash to pay for food and gas for the trip to Omaha but not a motel room. I was about 3/4 of the way up the west slope of the Rockies when my car began to stall out. Not sure what the problem was but I turned off the engine and let it rest. I restarted and went about a half mile before stalling out again. I did that about 6 times going about a quarter to a half mile before having to stop for about five minutes. I finally limped over the Divide in Black Wolf Pass, about 12,000 feet and rested the car again. Once I got going downhill all was good. Once I got to the bottom of the east slope, I pulled into the parking lot of a Holiday Inn Express and slept in my car.
Next day, I headed into Kansas. At Dodge City I turned north toward Nebraska. A few miles out of town I blew a tire. Now I'm really up the creek. After putting on the temp spare, I had to drive back into Dodge City because apparently that area is so desolate there is no cell phone coverage. Just lots of wind farms. I placed an emergency call to the credit card company to see if there was any way I could get an approval to buy a new tire. The lady on the line was very nice but after checking with her supervisors, she said without a card in my possesion there was nothing they could do. She then told me she spoke to her brother who was a mechanic and he told her if I didn't go over 50 mph, I could probably go 500 miles on that spare. Out of options, I decided to give it a go. I kept it at 50 mph most of the way, getting numerous one fingered salutes on the two lane highway from Kansas into Nebraska. When I got to I-80 I was feeling confident and cranked it up to 60 mph. I managed to make it to the Travel Lodge in Omaha where I was booked with $9 in my pocket and a near empty gas tank. Fortunately, my replacement credit card was there waiting for me and I was back in business.
After spending a few days in the old home town, I took off for item #5, the farm in Dyersville, IA where the movie Field of Dreams was shot. I grossly misjudged the travel time from Omaha and had a little trouble finding the place. I got there about 20 minutes before they closed for the day. The ballfield has been maintained but since this was the end of May, the corn was only about 6 inches high. Still, it was a pretty cool place.
I hadn't intended to turn this post into a travelogue when I started, but I just got carried away. Bottom line, if you haven't done it yet, go see the Grand Canyon and ride the Durango and Silverton. If the other items interest you as well, by all means go do them. Life is short. Enjoy the ride.
NP2626 My love for narrow gauge is peaking and I'm almost considering selling off my Standarg Gage equipment tearing down my present layout and starting over with a small narrow gage modular layout that could be hauled from my basement, should the need arise. I also wonder about the wisdom of doing all that at the age of 64!
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
richhotrain NP2626 Thank you guys that is some really interesting information you've provided. My love for narrow gauge is peaking and I'm almost considering selling off my Standarg Gage equipment tearing down my present layout and starting over with a small narrow gage modular layout that could be hauled from my basement, should the need arise. I also wonder about the wisdom of doing all that at the age of 64! Shame on you for even thinking that. It is never too late to start a new layout. Go for it, do it. Rich
NP2626 Thank you guys that is some really interesting information you've provided. My love for narrow gauge is peaking and I'm almost considering selling off my Standarg Gage equipment tearing down my present layout and starting over with a small narrow gage modular layout that could be hauled from my basement, should the need arise. I also wonder about the wisdom of doing all that at the age of 64!
Thank you guys that is some really interesting information you've provided. My love for narrow gauge is peaking and I'm almost considering selling off my Standarg Gage equipment tearing down my present layout and starting over with a small narrow gage modular layout that could be hauled from my basement, should the need arise. I also wonder about the wisdom of doing all that at the age of 64!
Shame on you for even thinking that. It is never too late to start a new layout. Go for it, do it.
Rich
Rich, I'm heavily into three hobbies: R/C airplanes, R/C sailboats and Model Rairoading, Then I also spend most of my summers sailing my 27 foot Mirgae sailboat on Leech Lake here in Northern Minnesota and also like to traval! So, even if I live to 100, the amount of free time I can devote to a new project like this is fairly limited. So excuse me for thinking I may not have time to start over with a railroad. However, I am thinking about this!
Missed the quote...