Researching? Colorado?? - Come pay us a visit at Colorado Railroad Museum Richardson Library - Tues to Sat 11am - 3PM....the library can set up the research materials and have it waiting when you arrive if you set things up in advance.
(Just to jumble things further, C&S predecessor Denver & New Orleans RR was originally chartered to go Denver to La Junta to Amarillo and points SE, ran recon surveys to do the same, and would have bypassed Pueblo, Trinidad and Trinchera Pass altogether. Economics later determined otherwise. (Follow the Money!)...Santa Fe later built the La Junta (Las Animas) to Amarillo portion and finished it in the Mid-1930's -Boise City District of BNSF today.)
That country is full of broken dreams and railroads that were never built.
ps - C&S/FW&D was hardly independent - CB&Q controlled since 1908 and UP controlled it 20 years before that (UPD&G)...it was only on its own as C&S from 1900 to 1908.
In the 1970's there was a series of paperback books called "BN/ Burlington Northern Motive Power Annual" for 1971 (see http://tplibrary.seesaa.net/article/456980040.html , then just "Annual" for 1972 and afterward (see https://www.amazon.com/Burlington-Northern-1973-Annual-Wagner/dp/B002EEZ7TO ), by F. Hol Wagner. I'm pretty sure one of them featured the C&S. I did a search and found a few, like the ones linked above. But finding that one could be a challenge.
- PDN.
Thanks a ton guys! I’m from NE Texas and on family trips in the past, we paralled the Fort Worth & Denver/Colorado & Southern for most of the journey when vacationing to Colorado. This was the one area that I’d never gotten to see much of and wasn’t sure how to research it without knowing the actual names of the locations.
BTW, I’m compiling as much info as I can because I’m planning to model the C&S/FW&D as an independent railroad in the 1980s.
Dakota
Unremembered is that Santa Fe contemplated using Trinchera Pass in 1872 before selecting Raton Pass. Santa Fe had reached Granada, CO after completing its Land Grant obligation to reach the Colorado border by 12-31-1872. Reconoscence surveys were made toward Trinchera Pass but Santa Fe elected to proceed along the Arkansas River toward Pueblo and the revenue potential from the developeing mining in Colorado. There was no revenue potential along the surveyed route toward New Mexico via Trinchera Pass. Plus water for steam locomotives and timber for cross ties and bridges was very limited.
The route via Raton Pass was later selected by using the Station of La Junta (the junction), which was along the Granada- Pueblo line, and building southwest toward Trinidad and Raton Pass.
I've driven along this route a couple of times, it's actually a rather pretty area. The town of Folsom NM is right in the middle of a big horseshoe curve. North of Folsom the road is separate from the RR but you can see it winding it's way along the mountainside, and as you near the state line, the RR rejoins the road. The little town of Branson CO is just north of the state line, and at that point, road and rail diverge again. If you're in the area it's well worth the drive-the road is narrow and winding but paved the whole way.
They'll leave the light on for ya. When you coming out?
On Google Maps, both Branson and Trinchera look like the towns from The Andromeda Strain.
BNSF TWIN PEAKS SUBDIVISION - LS 477 (50MPH CTC & ABS with many geometry and grade restrictions)
Grades less than 1.3% on the FW&D/C&S line
Primary traffic on the Crooked & Slow (C&S) = Coal plus mixed freight, grain and light intermodal....Now primarilly running northbound empties while former ATSF Boise City Sub takes the loads south on a better/faster/less hilly/better engineered(newer in places by 50-60 years) railroad between Pueblo and Amarillo even though much of it is dark TWC territory.
State line (CO/NM) a mile south of Branson at MP 264
The CO - NM locals call it Trinchera Pass.
Does anyone know the name of the pass/location where the Colorado & Southern-BN-BNSF enters Colorado from Northeast New Mexico? I’ve found virtually no information on it. I know it’s not that far from Raton Pass....how were the C&S grades? Are there any places I can find photos of area, especially during the Burlington Northern era? What was the primary traffic during this era? Any books out there that covers it? Looking for any info I can get.
Thanks!
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.