Forums

[rjemery]

The Routledge Historical Atlas of the American Railroads by John F. Stover, 1999, presents maps and statistics for a number of the larger American railroads as they existed in 1950, among other historical information.  The individual maps only present the routes of one specific railroad per page.  The routes of competing lines are not shown.

For the CB&Q, the 1950 map shows an isolated line running northeast of Leadville, CO, that makes no connection with any other CB&Q trackage.  See p. 97.

The D&RGW did have a branch running from Malta to Leadville but not beyond, although there are tracks beyond to Climax, CO.

Did the CB&Q have an interest in a Colorado mining company?   How is it the CB&Q owned a short line so far from its regular routes?

[nanaimo73]

The CB&Q owned the Colorado and Southern, and the C&S had a narrow gauge line from Denver to Leadville that was built by the Denver, South Park and Pacific. This line crossed the Continental Divide at Boreas Pass and again at Fremont Pass. The middle was abandoned during 1937 and C&S kept the Climax to Leadville line, and I believe they used haulage rights over the D&RGW to Pueblo to connect with the rest of the system. I believe the traffic was a Molybdenum mine at Climax.

You may be interested in "My last ride to Leadville", by E J Haley, pages 26 to 35, December 1982 Trains.

Have you seen this-

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/745346/ShowPost.aspx

[rjemery]

The CB&Q owned the Colorado and Southern, and the C&S had a narrow gauge line from Denver to Leadville that was built by the Denver, South Park and Pacific. This line crossed the Continental Divide at Boreas Pass and again at Fremont Pass. The middle was abandoned during 1937 and C&S kept the Climax to Leadville line, and I believe they used haulage rights over the D&RGW to Pueblo to connect with the rest of the system. I believe the traffic was a Molybdenum mine at Climax.

You may be interested in "My last ride to Leadville", by E J Haley, pages 26 to 35, December 1982 Trains.

Have you seen this-
http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/745346/ShowPost.aspx

You are a treasure trove of information.  Many thanks for the historical perspective.  I had not seen the Continental Divide thread but found it highly useful and informative.

[CANADIANPACIFIC2816]

The CB&Q owned the Colorado and Southern, and the C&S had a narrow gauge line from Denver to Leadville that was built by the Denver, South Park and Pacific. This line crossed the Continental Divide at Boreas Pass and again at Fremont Pass. The middle was abandoned during 1937 and C&S kept the Climax to Leadville line, and I believe they used haulage rights over the D&RGW to Pueblo to connect with the rest of the system. I believe the traffic was a Molybdenum mine at Climax.

You may be interested in "My last ride to Leadville", by E J Haley, pages 26 to 35, December 1982 Trains.

Have you seen this-

http://www.trains.com/trccs/forums/745346/ShowPost.aspx

I can recommend an excellent book on the Denver, South Park & Pacific, it is "The South Park Line" by Mallory Hope Ferrell. It is 362 pages in length, not including the bibliography and index. Published in 2003 by Hundman Publishing. Well illustrated with a lot of very old black & white photos, and a few paintings. This book retails for about $90.00, but if you can find a copy of it at a swap meet anywhere, you might be able to buy it for considerably less, which is what I did.

I might also recommend a membership in the Burlington Route Historical Society. I would think that they have published a good deal of material pertaining to the Colorado & Southern's narrow gauge operations in the state of Colorado.

CANADIANPACIFIC2816

[daveklepper]

The Leadville to Climax line was converted to standard gauge for interchange with the D&RGW and was also the last steam regular freight operation on the "Q" systen.  A couple of 2-8-0's were assigned, if I remember correctly.   Isn't a small portion of the line operated as an isolated tourist operaiton today?