Choo Choos

[highpilgrim]

Riding the old RR grade from Pitkin up to the Alpine Tunnel is a good one

That is the same Railroad that went through Como. The tunnel was an amazing engineering achievement; the valley was too steep to go straight up, so they created a huge loop and turned up valley on the opposite side as the approach in order to make the grade work. And still had to build a 600 foot long retaining wall to make it possible. The wall is still in place today but has partly failed due to a big rock slide.

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[justiner]

The guy that runs the Como Depot is a nice guy. When I raced the Tour Divide, an "anonymous donor" would put a beer on the tab of any racer that stopped by.

This guy lived there too

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[gb]

The wall is still in place today but has partly failed due to a big rock slide.

...The bright side of which is the lack of traffic

[JChitwood]

Great thread highpilgrim and other contributors. Much appreciated. I do plan on moseying around Como next time I'm in the area.

[Mark A Steiner]

I have always been interested in the Argentine Central RR that took tourists to the top of McClellan Mtn for a view of Grays and Torreys.

I've hiked that railroad grade years ago. I only know a little about the Argentine Central but this might help, if you're inclined to pay for it.

https://www.amazon.com/Stairway-Stars-C ... B00470X858

Once hiked straight up McClellan from Waldorf, then took the easy, enjoyable trip back to Waldorf on the railroad grade. Many mountain goats in the area. Others were enjoying jeeping or cycling (enduros) to the Argentine Central terminus, which is about 13,040 feet. Late Colorado historian Carolyn Bancroft has written interesting details about this railroad and its founder, a man named Wilcox, for whom nearby Mount WIlcox is named.

[Mark A Steiner]

I have to admit to liking trains and have since I was a kid. I lived in Colorado years ago in the Breckenridge area and got hooked on the Railroad and Mining History of the Colorado Mountains. One of the many great Narrow Gauge Railroads was the Denver, South Park and Pacific (DS&P) which later became the Colorado and Southern (C&S).

An important point on that line was in South Park at Como. Como was a major division point and maintenance facility, centered upon the roundhouse and turntable that remains to this day. Built in the 1880s, it was originally a six stall engine house, and was later added to extensively with additional wood construction to increase capacity. The wood structure was demolished and in some part burned leaving only the original structure intact.

I have been visiting this structure for 40 years and enjoyed it immensely but just expected it eventually to fade with the rest of the Railroad and Mineral Mining History of the state.

Imagine my shock and surprise when I visited last week and found this: a completely rebuilt and operational turntable and newly renovated Como Depot!

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A little further research yielded these:





I will post some more pictures of this area and if there is any interest will continue to do so. I know it's not mountaineering but to me is part of this fantastic state and its history. Sorry in advance if it doesn't toot your whistle.

Btw, the leaf porn lovers among us better get ready; aspens are well on their way turning in the South Park area.

What a change since I last visited the roundhouse site in 2011. The attached view is but a ghost of what you have depicted here. Thanks!

You have my permission to add more details about the DSP&P - amazing history - will see what else I can scrounge up also.

[Steve2]

When I was a kid in Portland, around 14 or so, there was this old man at Fred Meyers who would push the shopping carts from the parking lot to the story. Long trains of them. As he did so, he often let out a long chooooooo chooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

So my friend and I teased him a few times, going chooooooo chooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Then one day he spun around and chased us at an unbelievable speed, and we didn't lose his until we climbed up a steep hill.

Moral of the story: never tease and old man lost in his choo choo reveries.

[Vids]

Cool thread, I like railroads and history. I drive through South Park every now and then, this gives me a great reason to stop off in Como and show my kids the roundhouse. My mom's side of the family is from a small town in IL, train tracks run 50 yards from my aunt and uncle's house. Even at 42 years old, I'm still like a little kid when I hear the horn announcing a train is coming. It's a small town and they fly through at 50 mph, it's great!

FYI - The Alpine Tunnel Road is closed on the west side now, an avalanche took out the road in 2016. I don't believe it's been repaired.
See link:
http://data.pitkin-news.com/HTMLFiles/T ... amage.html

I was lucky enough to draw a mountain goat tag in unit G7 in 2012, that's the area with the Waldorf Mine and Argentina Railroad Grade. Beautiful area, I thoroughly enjoyed scouting and hunting that area as it was new to me. The entire Leavenworth Creek basin is beautiful, lots of jeep and motorbike traffic but very few hikers. My inner railroad geek came out while I was researching the area for my hunt.

[gb]

FYI - The Alpine Tunnel Road is closed on the west side now, an avalanche took out the road in 2016. I don't believe it's been repaired.
See link:
http://data.pitkin-news.com/HTMLFiles/T ... amage.html

Only for cars and ATVs- no problems on foot, bike, or dirtbike. It's better that way anyway, and there are about 1 million raspberries to stop and eat along that road.

[XPLSV]

Great thread -- thanks everyone for sharing.

[highpilgrim]

The business end of a K28 Mudhen in the D&SNG RR in the roundhouse in Durango. The museum there is really worth your time. And, it's free.

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[Mark A Steiner]

Here is a view (October 10, 2011) of DSP&P section houses on Boreas Pass. Imagine keeping this line open during years when blowing snow and heavy drifting was much worse than is often experienced today.

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