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In Quest of Colorado Narrow Gauge 1950-1951 by Robert MacDonald Soft Cover
In Quest of Colorado Narrow Gauge 1950-1951 by Robert MacDonald
Soft Cover
Copyright 2002 FIRST EDITION
124 pages
Table of Contents
AcknowledgementsIntroduction
Part I - The Great Adventure of 1950
Chapter 1 - On to Denver
Chapter 2 - Adventures in Narrow Gauge Country
Chapter 3 - Farewell Ride on the San Juan Express
Chapter 4 - Alamosa and Home
Part II - Return to Narrow Gauge Country - 1951
Chapter 1 - A Springtime Adventure
Chapter 2 - Jewels of the Southwest Corner
Chapter 3 - Through the Canyon the Old Fashioned Way
Chapter 4 - Million Dollar Highway to a "Million Dollar" Ride
Chapter 5 - Terminal Treats to the North
Epilogue
Addendum - Some Later-Day Reflections
Denver and Vicinity
The South Park
Third Division Sites
Durango and the Silverton Branch
Fourth Divsion Sites
Appendix - Narrow Gauge Picture Gallery
Richard H. Kindig
Thomas G Newman
Robert W. Richardson
List of Maps
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1..The Narrow Gauge Circle - early post World War II - 1945-1949
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2..Route of the San Juan - Part I, Chapter 3
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3..Silverton Branch - Part II, Chapter 2
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4..RGS, Ridgway to Lizard Head - Part II, Chapter 3
Introduction
The seeds of interest in narrow gauge railroads began at an early age and close to home. The Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn RR was an electrified steam passenger three-foot gauge commuter line, operating between East Boston and Lynn, Mass. with a branch looping around the Winthrop Peninsula from Orient Heights (Revere), Mass. All but the last eleven, years of its life under steam, it had the distinction of using Miller couplers and steam vacuum brakes on its engines-latter Mason designed 2-4-4 RT "Bogies". I was definitely a fan, with many a ride in the last years of operations (abandoned in January 1940). As a young lad of four, I even had a ride behind steam in November of 1928.
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5..In the late 1930s through railroad hobby magazines, I discovered the relatively large numbers of still-existing slim gauge lines throughout U.S. and Canada, but of particular interest was the surprisingly extensive three-foot gauge lines in Colorado. Books, magazines and photo collections would be the closest I would get to seeing them for a long time. A layover of a troop train at Salida, Colorado, in February, 1946, while returning from service in the Pacific for discharge from the Army, provided the intial incentive to make the journey to what the devotees call NarrOw Gauge Country. Salida at the time was certainly one of its gateway approaches, with its lengthy stretch of transfer tracks and facilities, shops, roundhouses and narrow gauge branches fanning out in three directions.
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6..My interest in narrow gauge continued unabated throughout my military service and was particularly sparked by amine-month stay at Schofield Barracks on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Steam trains could be seen daily in all parts of the island on the three-foot gauge Oahu Ry., as well as numerous sugar and pineapple plantations. Realizing how fast these slim-track railroads were becoming defunct everywhere, I was determined after discharge, to at least get to Colorado before it would be too late. It was in the late 1940s, when several feature articles appeared in various publications, including Life magazine, as well as Sunday newspaper supplements on the last deluxe narrow gauge passenger train in America, operating in Southwest Colorado. It was called the San Juan Express. These stories emphasized the need to make haste to take a ride on this train, as it was soon to be discontinued. Track abandonments had taken place on the Denver & Rio Grande Western RR's Colorado narrow gauge lines, including parts of their old Third Division (their original mainline to the West), including the famed Black Canyon of the Gunnison River line in 1949 (between Sapinero and Cedar Creek).
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7..I had completed my GI. bill education in 1949. I took a job that turned out to be only temporary. After being laid off after the end of November, 1950, I was determined my next employment would be in Denver, Colorado. Failing in that, I would at least attempt to see "Narrow Gauge Country" and ride the San Juan Express, before it would no longer be possible.
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