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Denver & Rio Grande Western Modelling the Prototype Denver & Rio Grande ◦ D&RGW, D&RG, RGW ◦ Railroad, Railway, etc Colorado & Southern ◦ C&S, DL&G, DB&W, CC, DSP&P Colorado Midland Rio Grande Southern Uintah Other protagonists ◦ AT&SF, UP, Missouri Pacific, Rock Island ◦ And more Many Railroads & beyond Colorado... How... ◦ The path to model a US prototype & Colorado in particular. Why... ◦ Does Colorado Railroading have such a following? ◦ History, romance & Louis L’Amour? Where ◦ Is Colorado? ◦ Why does the D&RG encroach on New Mexico and Utah? ◦ Where did the rails get to? What ◦ Mining – timber – oil – bridge route? ◦ San Juan, South Park or more northerly aspirations? ◦ Narrow Gauge or the other one? When ◦ The early days? (1880 – 1890) ◦ Turn of which century? (1890 – 1920) ◦ Mid-life crises? (1920 – 1940) ◦ The narrow gauge decline or the mainline boom? (1940 – 1986) ◦ Falling Flags? (1986 – 2008) The Journey How? The pathway to a lifetime hobby. Meccano Tinker Toys Hornby Trains The Lone Ranger & Disneyland Tonto Slot Cars Marklin Sophistication The usual childhood upbringing for a baby-boomer... In the eyes of a 21-year old: ◦ The NZ hobby scene All kit based Clumsy & expensive Sn3½ white metal kits Badly made models on poor running layouts 9mm just starting (if you had a lathe...) ◦ NZR 4-wheel wagons and dirty dull diesels Not appreciated at the time ◦ NZ scenery on a cloudy day Wet – windy – grey – cold And so was the look and feel of the NZGR ◦ Enough US modellers to start their own convention in 1979 (AMRA) Limited availability of RTR US prototype models Big, brash and looked like a model (not like Triang Hornby) An easy decision at the time The attraction of bright colours under brilliant skies Something really special, totally different to anything I had seen before A complete smooth running scenic layout in a lounge room A detailed miniature world and not toy-like like so many other layouts In a modest home and not a basement empire 1978 Waitemata Convention Colorado Railroading combines romance & history in a unique way ◦ Colorado was where a lot of the “wild west” actually happened ◦ Visionaries overcoming the odds to create their dream ◦ Small machines overwhelmed by huge mountains ◦ Man & machine against nature ◦ “Battlers” winning against the odds A little research Small and Antique Large & Modern(ish) With Colorado I could follow most everything in my model making What? Industry, purpose or just watching the trains run? Colorado Utah New Mexico Lines of the D&RG(W) Founder of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway One of the most respected men in railroad history, honest and trustworthy, unlike many other railroad barons of his day. ◦ He did have a hard side. His railroad was famous for dictating terms to small towns, and if these terms were not met, the railroad would simply build a few miles away. ◦ He generally owned the land, or mine or steel mill that the railroad was being built to serve. ◦ He was heavily responsible for the development of Colorado and Utah in the 1870's and 1880's. He became one of the richest men in America. General William Jackson Palmer Born in Delaware on September 17, 1836. When he was a child his family moved to Pennsylvania. ◦ At 17, Palmer joined the engineering corps of Hemfield railroad. They saw his talent and sent him to England and France to study. ◦ He went on to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad where he rose to the position of Private Secretary to the President. ◦ In 1861, Palmer took a Commission in the Union Army. He raised an elite military troop partly assembled from his railroad contacts. ◦ During the war he was captured while scouting behind enemy lines. Released at the end of the war, he was given the Congressional Medal of Honour and retired at the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. General William Jackson Palmer Palmer became the treasurer of the Union Pacific railroad Eastern Division. ◦ This line was later organized into the Kansas Pacific Railway Company (KP). ◦ He managed construction of the new KP line to Denver, and was involved in the route location selection. ◦ He felt the line west should first be built to Pueblo and then north to Denver, along the mountains. Management disagreed and took the direct route into Denver. ◦ Still believing in the value of the Pueblo to Denver route, Palmer began to consider staking the right of way for himself. General William Jackson Palmer He became convinced that the land just east of Pikes Peak was perfect for development. ◦ His next steps lead to the organization, planning and financing of Colorado Springs. ◦ The General planned a railroad stretching south, along the Rio Grande, as far as Mexico. ◦ In 1870 he created the Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company ◦ The name showed the intent to build his line along the Rio Grande. General William Jackson Palmer On his honeymoon in the British Isles he saw narrow gauge railroading in operation and realized the advantages for use on his own line. ◦ The smaller scale meant initial savings in man power and materials, while allowing establishment of the Right of Way. ◦ Furthermore, the narrow gauge lent itself to mountain construction with the ability to take sharper curves and steeper grades. ◦ Thus Palmer's "Baby Road" was born and the space between the rails would be 3 feet. General William Jackson Palmer The remaining years of General Palmer's life history is intertwined with the history of the Rio Grande railroad. ◦ In time he lost control of his original railroad but spun off another one in Utah. ◦ During it all he helped establish Colorado Fuel & Iron in Pueblo ◦ Made a network of railroad and mines to feed the giant steel mills ◦ He even ended up in Mexico, his original dream, building railroads. ◦ In 1901 Palmer sold the Rio Grande Western and retired in Colorado Springs. ◦ Palmer rode his horses daily and in 1906 he fell and broke his neck. He was confined to a wheelchair after the fall and finally passed away in 1908. General William Jackson Palmer The beginnings of Colorado’s 140-year railroad history: ◦ The history of Colorado’s many railroads is identical with the history of the state, its cities and its people. ◦ The first railroads (UP, KP, AT&SF) were built westward from the Missouri River to the settlements at the eastern foot of the Rocky Mountains. Unlike the eastern US the towns these lines reached were 100’s of miles apart. The UP sacrificed Denver traffic in its haste to meet the CP at Promontory. The financiers of Denver overcame the slight by building their own link to Cheyenne Wyoming. ◦ Local promoters developed the Colorado Central to tap early mining business west of Golden. ◦ Jay Gould bought stock in all these roads and controlled all except the AT&SF by 1879. The D&RG was incorporated as a north-south route that would make Denver a hub for rail business between Mexico and the USA. ◦ Gould eventually failed to gain full control of the D&RG because Palmer rapidly expanded the road and issued so much stock that Gould could not keep pace. But not before the D&RG and AT&SF railroad war of 1878. General Palmer vs. Jay Gould Palmer started to build his D&RG south from Denver in 1871. ◦ 1871 Denver to Colorado Springs (76 miles) ◦ 1872 Colorado Springs to South Pueblo (43 miles) ◦ 1873-75 (Global Financial Panic).... ◦ 1876-77 AT&SF arrives in Pueblo Palmer starts to plan and build lines westward to Leadville and to the San Luis Valley to counter AT&SF moves in that direction Construction still moves southward toward the original goal of Santa Fe ◦ 1878 AT&SF beats the D&RG to Raton Pass D&RG retreats from Raton and focuses on a route to Leadville only to find the AT&SF effectively blocking that path too. An all out “Railroad War” commences in the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas. In defeat and out of funds, Palmer is forced to lease his railroad to the AT&SF. To the West instead of the South 1879 The AT&SF uses the D&RG to manipulate freight rates against Gould’s KP-UP monopoly. ◦ Palmer appeals in court to annul the lease of the D&RG on the grounds that the traffic war will destroy it. He wins and the D&RG is placed in receivership. ◦ Gould commences buying up D&RG shares with the intention of using the same way but against the AT&SF. He uses this new found power to force a treaty that ended the conflict. 1880-81 Rapid expansion sees the system reach Durango, Gunnison, Leadville and the route toward Salt Lake City (via Gunnison) is underway. ◦ Denver financier John Evans, with CB&Q backing, arranges construction of his Denver & New Orleans as-well-as CB&Q’s own expansion to Denver from Nebraska. ◦ In response the D&RG commences a hasty strategy to standard gauge the railroad (initially to Pueblo). Gould’s manoeuvres win the day 1881 - to facilitate the D&RG’s westward push, Palmer incorporated a new railway in Salt Lake City – the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway. ◦ The two lines met near Green River, Utah in 1883. ◦ The D&RG Railway leased the tracks of the D&RGW Railway for thirty years. Palmer’s constant program of expansion put the D&RG in a difficult financial situation. ◦ The Board of Directors asked for Palmer’s resignation. He consented, but remained as president of the D&RGW Railway and as a Director of the D&RG.

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