Western History & Genealogy Blog
Colorado Narrow-Gauge Railroads
Submitted by abrown on Thu, 08/20/2009 - 13:51
John Henry Bowman moved to Georgetown, Colorado in 1885. He bought stock in the American Sisters Mine, a silver mine in Clear Creek County, Colorado. Bowman’s daughter, “Mellie,” married John James (“J.J.”) White, who bought the rest of the mine and also practiced law. Today, the Bowman/White House in Georgetown is a historical site.
WH32, available in the Western History Department, is a collection of the papers of these families that reflects their lives in Colorado. Included in the collection is a box of nitrate negatives. Dennis Hagen, is an expert and an enthusiast in narrow-gauge railroads. He was very interested in the following images as was Charles Albi, a railroad author and expert who volunteers at the library.
The first image shows Engine Number 4 – a Shay-type Locomotive. Although similar to locomotives used on the Argentine Central near Silver Plume, Colorado, Charles Albi discovered that this engine was actually used byCalifornia's Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railroad.
The next two images are of Engine 69 of the Colorado and Southern Railroad probably near Elk Creek, Colorado. Engine 69 pulled the scrap train that dismantled the Georgetown Loop in 1939, and it was the last engine to run at Black Hawk in Colorado.
Two cabooses are clearly visible in the photograph of the train crossing a bridge. This photograph was taken near Elk Creek in Clear Creek Canyon.
The last image portrays Engine 60, but look at Engine 69 on the other end of the train. It turns out that engine 69 is pulling a dead engine 60 and coach to a final resting place on display in Idaho Springs, Colorado. This photograph was probably taken around 1941.
The date of the images is not known. The Colorado and Southern Railroad bought the Georgetown Loop in 1898 and continued operating along Clear Creek until the early 1940s, so it is likely that the photographs date from in between those two dates. If anyone can tell us more details about the photographs, it would be greatly appreciated.
Probable dates & location
Very neat collection of photographs!
All of the pictures which are of the Colorado & Southern locomotives and trains appear to have been taken at a location on the railroad known as "Forks Creek", where the railroad, and the north and south forks of Clear Creek, diverged. One track of the railroad went north to Central City and Black Hawk, the other, more southerly route went west to Idaho Springs, Georgetown, and Silver Plume. The railroad had a water tank and buildings at this location, which is why this seems to be the most probable location. The photograph showing locomotive #60 in the foreground may very well be the #60's last trip up the canyon. Notice that there is another locomotive in the background, and it has visible smoke coming from its stack. #60 does not, and appears to be being pulled "dead" (not steamed up). The #60 is also very clean and shiny with new paint, which makes me think this may have been the train that took #60 up to Idaho Springs, where it was left on permanent display by the Colorado & Southern Railway in 1941, and it still is there today.
If there is any concern of my accuracy with these photos, please contact me via email.
Regards,
Shane Schabow
Brakeman, Georgetown Loop Railroad
Great stuff
Great stuff love looking at pictures of old trains keep posting... Cheers