The Rio Grande Southern Railroad Preserved at Ridgway Colorado
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad preserved at Ridgway, Colorado. I take you on a video tour of the Ridgway Railroad Museum and let you in on the exciting restoration projects they have going as they seek to preserve the history of mountain railroading in western Colorado. Visit the museum's website at
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Ridgway Railroad Museum Silver Spike Ceremony, May 11, 2019
Yesterday was an eventful day in Ridgway, starting with the Silver Spike Ceremony of the Ridgway Railroad Museum. It commemorated not only the completion of Ridgway's own Rio Grande Southern in 1891, but 18 months of volunteers completing the half-mile loop and various side tracks and switches at the museum's new location on Railroad Street.
It also coincided with the anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad, when a golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869. Mayor John Clark and museum president Karl Schaeffer in period costume moderated the event, which was followed by train rides for the public all day long.
The museum welcomes any time new volunteers who would like to join in ongoing work Tuesday and Saturday mornings. The Ridgway Railroad Museum is definitely one of the most fascinating and valuable assets of Ridgway!
Rio Grande Southern Galloping Geese in Colorado; Ridgway, Dolores & Golden
On a recent trip to Colorado we came across 6 of these unique vehicles in three different locations.
First at Ridgeway Railroad Museum there was a replica of No. 1 which transported our group up and down a short length of track. No. 4 was also there which I believe has now moved under it's own power for the 1st time in years. Check out Ridgeway Railroad Museum's website for more info
Second we called at Dolores where No. 5 gave us a short (50 yard) journey.
Finally we called at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden where we enjoyed a 3 circuit trip aboard No. 7. They also have Nos 2 and 6 arranged around the turntable.
We were very grateful to the members of all three locations in being there to give us rides.
I've included some stills at the end of the video of all 6 that we saw including the non-movers
Locomotive built in 1881 still pulling passenger trains.
Denver and Rio Grande Western #346 is one of the oldest operating steam locomotives in the United States. The narrow gauge locomotive built by Baldwin in 1881, still pulls occasional passenger trains at the Colorado railroad museum in Golden, Colorado. The large device at the top of the smoke stack is called a ridgway spark arrestor also know as a bear trap. It was designed to capture hot coal cinders where they went down a chute and later emptied. The locomotive looks very much like it did over 137 years ago.
Mayhew Cabin
A visit to the Mayhew Cabin located in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Underneath the cabin is a recreated “cave” system much like the ones used in the Underground Railroad. Unfortunately it is closed until April but thankfully someone else has done a video of the inside which you can find here Also, here is a great documentary that explains the history
The historic sign reads:
“Mayhew Cabin, 1855”
“This cabin, one of Nebraska’s oldest structures, was built in the summer of 1855 as the home of Allen B. Mayhew, his wife Barbara Ann (Kagy) Mayhew, and their sons, Edward and Henry. John Henry Kagi, Barbara Mayhew’s brother, lived briefly with the Mayhew’s before joining abolitionist John Brown in Kansas.
In February 1859 Kagi helped Brown lead eleven Missouri slaves to freedom in Iowa via Nebraska City. During the trek Kagi narrowly avoided arrest while at the cabin. He was killed in October 1859 during Brown’s raid on the Harpers Ferry, Virginia, arsenal to seize weapons for a slave uprising.
Beginning in the 1870s, stories and recollections about this turbulent era credited the cabin as an Underground Railroad system. Edward Mayhew recalled Kagi once bringing fourteen black persons (possibly escaping slaves) to the cabin for breakfast.
When the cabin was moved several feet in the 1930s due to highway construction, a “cave” allegedly used to hide freedom-seeking slaves, was recreated nearby. Legends connecting John Brown to the Mayhew cabin made it a popular tourist attraction devoted to the antislavery cause.”
More info:
Building to the Future
Building to the Future: The story of the Colorado Railroad Museum's Railroad Library and Roundhouse expansion. #ThrowBackThursday #TBT
Ridgway Creative District
Public Art in Ridgway Colorado is a group of local citizens working to bring public art to Ridgway's Outdoor spaces and to promote Ridgway and the excellent sculpture created by Western Slope artists.
Galloping Goose train at Colorado Railroad Museum
Hey guys Watson inc. here!
Recently me and my family took a trip to Colorado. While we were there visiting Royal Gorge and Pikes Peak, we decided to go to Denver as well. While we were there, we decided to take a trip to the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado, a city close to Denver. At the museum, we explored various train cars and locomotives including the retired Pikes Peak steam locomotive, 3 Galloping Goose trains, plenty of train cars, a steam snowplow, and a working steam engine we got to ride. The Galloping Goose locomotives were converted Buick trucks made to deliver mail and other freight from the 1930s to 1950s by Rio Grande Southern rail but some were converted into passenger trains as an attraction of sorts in effort to save the units, yet the attempt failed and the only 3 left are here. When we rode it, it was a bit shaky when people were boarding but once it got moving, it was less shaky. Overall, it was a great time and at the end I got a little Union Pacific Big Boy keychain charm.
CREDITS:
-Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden CO
-Galloping Goose by Rio Grande Southern Railroad
-Recorded on iPhone 6
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Colorado Experience: Galloping Goose
Take a ride on the Galloping Goose, seven operation railcars that ran through the rugged San Juan mountains from 1931 to 1952. Carrying cargo, mail, and passengers, these Motors connected Dolores, Telluride, and Ridgeway with many locations along the Rio Grand Southern Railroad. Discover their mechanical and weather-related adventures, learn how they have been preserved, and why they attract visitors from around the world.
Track Level view: San Diego S-Gaugers at the Model Railroad Museum Labor Day 2013
For the fifth Labor Day in a row, the San Diego S-Gaugers ran their modular layout at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum over Labor Day weekend in 2013. This video shares a track-level view of three trains entering and leaving the Powell Yard.
Gnawley Line
Slideshow of the Gnawley Line trail in the RAT - Ridgway Area Trail System near Ridgway, Colorado. More information is available on gjhikes.com.
The United Mine Workers and CIO steel workers participate in a rally in Johnstown...HD Stock Footage
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The United Mine Workers and CIO steel workers participate in a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
A rally by steel strikers in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Fifteen thousand members of the United Mine Workers participate in a rally to voice their sympathy with CIO (Committee for Industrial Organization) steel workers engaged in a protracted strike. Vehicles drive past on a street amongst security. A huge crowd gathered to watch the rally during a heavy rainfall. An official speaks into a microphone from under an umbrella. People cover their heads with plastic sheets. Location: Johnstown Pennsylvania. Date: July 5, 1937.
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4K Sn3 Layout Tour - Doug and Tifini Jolley's D&RGW Third Division
Our first attempt at a 4K layout tour! Doug and Tifini Jolley's HUGE 18'X43' Sn3 D&RGW Third Division - As seen at the 2019 NMRA National Convention.
D&RGW Third Division Sn3 Doug and Tifini Jolley
The D&RGW's Third division is represented on this double deck 18' x 43' Sn3 layout. The line between Gunnison and Ridgway, Colorado is included with a freelance connection of the San Migual and Southern, on the Ridgway branch, and a connection with the Timber Creek Railway near Gunnison. These connections were added to generate a bit more operating fun on a line that seen very little traffic in the 50's, the era modeled. Operation on the D&RGW is basically done in a chronological order using car cards. Include is a daily passenger run, a daily freight, a coal run, and a stock extra. Several locals are included, as well. The Timber Creek operation incorporates a run to the tipple for live loads of ore and then a run to the smelter for dumping in the rotory dumper. The coal tipple along the D&RGW line is also a live load operation. Operation on this railroad is brand new, and still undergoing refinements.
Size: 18 X 43 Double Deck
Scale: Sn3
Era: 1950's
Control system: Lenz DCC
D&RGW THIRD DIVISION / TIMBER CREEK RAILWAY
DRGW
The DRGW 3rd Division encompassed the line west from Salida to Ouray, Colo. The portion we have chosen to model is between Gunnison and Ridgway. In the era that we model, there was very little traffic on the narrow gauge west of Gunnison. In order to make this portion bit more interesting to operate we have added a couple of key elements. The first being the addition of a connection with two freelanced railroads to increase traffic. The first being the Timber Creek Railway in the Gothic area northwest of Gunnison. While in reality, no town was ever erected there, in our world, it was, as a coal seam of extraordinary quality was discovered very near there. Gothic soon became one of the largest settlements in the area.
The second connection was at Cow Creek on the Oray Branch. Here we connect with the San Miquel and Southern, a freelanced road operated by our good friend Bill Adkins. SM&S traffic comes on line here from a point in the San Miquels, and is delivered to the RGS at Ridgway for a connection with the SM&S near Placerville to continue it's journey west into Utah.
Because of this extra business we have added, our second key element was added. The line east of Montrose traversed an area on the west approach to Cerro Summit that was a continual problem for the railroad. The ground was very unstable here, and the grade tended to slip down the hillside on occasion. One such occasion occurred in 1949. Traffic was sparse, so the railroad chose to abandon the section between Sapinero and Fairview, and rails were pulled up.
But, in our world, because of the extra traffic of the other two railroads, the decision was made to repair it, one more time. The RGS is still clinging, as well...a bit past their expected abandonment in 1951. Thus, here we are in 1954-5, still struggling along. Is the end near? Probably. But not yet.
TIMBER CREEK RAILWAY
The Timber Creek Railway began life in the hills above Crested Butte, Colo hauling timber from the Gothic area to the DRGW for ties. With the mining boom came even more demand on the railroad for timber. But timber was diminishing, as was the equipment for the TCR. It was just plain wore out. When silver and gold were discovered in the Poverty area and a new purpose was discovered for the Timber Creek Railway, they were in dire need of equipment. A Shay was purchased from a shortline in California, a Consolidation was discovered in Alaska at a price that was low enough it was worth shipping to Colo. A couple of other ex-C&S consolidations were picked up from a dealer in Denver and they were back in business.
Traffic now consists of a mine run to the Poverty Mining District to load ore with a return to the railroad's headquarters in Gothic. It is then hauled up to the old town of Smelter Hill, were the Concentrator turns it into boxcar loads of concentrates that can now be shipped out to smelters on the DRGW.
The Layout
The double-deck layout occupies an area of approximately 18' X 43' in a basement room. The mainline and branch lines compromise about 300 feet of operation. Gunnison is a staging yard. A helix connects the two levels. Construction was started about 2003, but it has only been the last couple of years that it has really progressed in earnest. The last bit of roadbed and track are yet to be completed in the Gothic engine facilities.
Control is DCC using the Lenz System. Coal loading facilities are very near completion. while the Ore tipple at Poverty is getting there...But the Rotary Dump at Smelter hill is yet to take shape. These will be live load operations.
Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check on us later for progress!
Doug & Tifini Jolley
Rio Grande Southern Goose number 1
After waking up in Ridgway on a Thursday morning, I realized that across the street in the railroad museum, they were running Goose number 1. Interesting but short video.
Group moving full steam ahead to restore train
ORANGE - by Lauren Huet
The Friends of the Orange Depot are moving full steam ahead towards their goal: restoring a historic train depot, and creating an attraction that could draw more visitors to downtown Orange.
Train rides, model trains, and bouncy houses were just a few of the attractions at the Friends of the Orange Depot's first fundraiser Saturday at the Riverfront Pavilion in Orange. The non- profit organization is raising money to restore Orange's historic train depot.
I think it needs to be restored, maybe we can put a museum there, something we can all enjoy, said Jenny Swarers, who came out to support the event.
That's exactly what Carrie Woliver, the president of Friends of the Orange Depot, intends to do.
What we plan to do with the depot is to make it into partly a museum of the industries of Orange, said Woliver.
It all started with a book, The Train Stopped in Orange.
About three years ago, said Woliver, I decided to write a book because I found the diaries of my grandparents who lived here from 1917-1918.
She says her grandparents lived only two blocks away from the train depot. Woliver grew up in Orange.
So, when we came to Orange for a book signing, said Woliver, we came over the railroad track and saw that depot and I went, my gosh, it's crumbling. Why has this not been saved?
She created the Friends of the Orange Depot. The non-profit purchased the depot last year. Now she's working to restore it.
In the depot is going to be, they're going to have a reception area, and a gift shop, and a conference room. So, it's really going to be used by the people of Orange, but we encourage tourists to come of course, said Woliver.
The depot is the first thing tourists see when entering downtown Orange.
When you come into town, you come into those railroad tracks, you're going to see a gorgeous depot, said Orange City Councilwoman Mary McKenna. You're going to be able to go in there, and look at the history of Orange, and see what the train did for our community.
To help reach its goal, the group is selling engraved bricks. They'll pave a path to the depot. People who buy a brick will have their name, or their family's name engraved on the brick. A large brick costs 100 dollars. A small brick costs 50 dollars.
Restoring a piece of Orange's past, preserving it for the future.
My grandparents, they lived two blocks down from the depot, said Woliver. In the diaries they talk about how their relatives came and went from all parts, because that was the way people traveled. So, it was such an important part of American history. So, we want to save it.
The group's goal is to raise a total of 600 thousand dollars to restore the depot. They hope to raise $50,000 selling bricks. For more information, visit their website.
Ghost Tracking the Rio Grande Southern
We are driving from Durango to Ridgeway following the Otto Mears's Rio Grande Southern. For the narrow gauge fans, the RGS is legend. For everyone it's an amazing trip into the high mountains of Colorado.
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Please watch: The Trains of Santa Cruz California
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Ridgway Area Trails (Colorado) MTB ride
Top of the Pines - Ridgway, Colorado flyaround
Visit the Town of Winnsboro | South Carolina
Often referred to as the Charleston of the Upcountry, Winnsboro, located in the upper Piedmont region, was named in honor of the Winn family, and abounds with historic and architecturally interesting homes and buildings. We invite you to explore our website and learn about the historic Fairfield County Courthouse, the Town Clock, the Fairfield County Museum, and more. Important forms and government information is also available for your convenience.
May 22, 2014, highway 62, Colorado
We are on highway 62 going to Ridgeway, Colorado.