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Goin' Railroading Two generations of Colorado Stories Coal & Speas w/DJ
Goin Railroading Two generations of Colorado Stories by Margaret Coel, as told by Sam Speas
Hard Cover with dust jacket
Copyright 1991
180 pages
Contents
Prefaceix
Preface to First Edition xi
1. Goin' Railroading 1
2. The Big Smoke 8
3. The 10 Spot 15
4. Pretty Rough Riding 20
5. Fast Freight to Leadville 30
6. The Road to Everywhere37
7. Through the Mountain 45
8. Buckin' the Snow52
9. Como Days 59
10. Wreck on the Line 67
11. The Union Men73
12. So Long, Old Friends 81
13. Runnin' to Romley 87
14. The Old Engineer 92
15. A New Day Comin' 97
16. The Extra Board 102
As America, carried along by the expanding rail system, moved westward in the nineteenth century, few occupations seemed more exciting or romantic than that of railroad engineer. And in the mountains and plains of the West, long hours, backbreaking labor, bitter temperatures, and faulty brakes were the crucible in which the best of the early railroaders were formed: Only the most dedicated and skilled of men passed the tests the narrow-gauge lines of Colorado meted out.
Goin' Railroading is the story of two generations of such men, four members of the Speas family who, from the open cabs of narrow-gauge steam engines, watched Colorado grow.
Sam Speas, who spent forty-six years as a fireman and engineer on the Colorado & Southern, grew up with the railroad. Here he tells the story of his father, Sam Speas, Sr., who left Missouri in 1883 to become an engineer in Colorado, and recounts his own experiences and those of his brothers and fellow railroaders, from the golden era of the narrow-gauge lines in South Park to the final days of steam power on the Front Range and the coming of the diesel engine.
His stories are a profound document of a vanished way of life, a testament to the courage and tenacity of the early citizens of Colorado, and a tribute to the rough-hewn, often gallant men who took the trains through incredible, almost unbelievable, hazards. Funny, tragic, bittersweet, and poignant, Goin' Railroading is a remarkable book that brings a portion of the history and people of an earlier Colorado to vibrant life.
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