Колорадо тарихындағы темір жол: "South Park Line"

Historic railroad in Colorado, U. S.

The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic 3ft narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the first rail routes to a large section of the central Colorado mining district in the decades of the mineral boom. The railroad took its name from the fact that its main line from Denver ascended the Platte Canyon and traversed South Park, hence its popular name "The South Park Line." Despite its lofty goals, the line never connected itself with the Pacific or any transcontinental line, apart from its terminal at Denver Union Station. Founded in 1872 by Colorado Governor John Evans, the company was purchased by the Union Pacific Railway in 1880, though it continued to be operated independently. The line went bankrupt in 1889 and was reorganized under a new corporate name as the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway. The railroad was earning about $1,200 a day, with only a daily operating expense of $480. This made the railroad very profitable, while also allowing a steady flow of money to help with construction cost. In November 1879, with the tracks only as far as South Park, the company contracted for the initial construction of the Alpine Tunnel, with an expected finish date of July 1, 1880. The following month, the tracks reached to the summit of Trout Creek Pass.

Meanwhile, construction continued from Buena Vista past Mount Princeton to what would become the Alpine Tunnel. The Alpine Tunnel was "holed through" on July 26, 1881. Location of the tunnel portals and establishing a center line of the bore were completed in December 1879. Construction of the Alpine Tunnel took place between 1880 and 1881, by Cummings & Co. Construction company. This was the highest and most expensive tunnel built up until that time. It exceeds 2 mile (3 km) above sea level, with its highest point at 11523.7 feet (3512 m). It is 500 feet (152 m) under Altman Pass, later to be named Alpine Pass to prevent confusion, with a 1825 feet (556 m) bore. It took 18 months to complete, with most of the construction done during the winter months. The tunnel only had a thirty year life span, with the last locomotive passing through the tunnel on November 10, 1910. The line exited the west portal of the Alpine Tunnel, to Alpine Tunnel Station, the highest railroad station in the United States. There also was a turntable, water tank, and a two story frame boarding house that replaced the stone boarding house and engine house, which burned down in 1906. Parlin, located at milepost 189.78 is where the tracks of the Denver, South Park and Pacific and the Denver and Rio Grande joined up and ran along each other to Gunnison. The land for the track was given to the railroad by local dairy rancher John Parlin around 1877, with the condition that the railroad would build a depot, and stop for at least five minutes so passengers could buy milk. The main line reached Gunnison the following year in 1882.

The Denver, South Park, & Pacific built north of Gunnison up the Ohio Creek Drainage to the Castelton and Baldwin Areas. Then planning to cross over Kebler Pass to Delta, Grand Junction, and points west and south. Track was laid 4 mile (6 km) past the Baldwin Mine, and another 8 mile (13 km) were graded, but after losing rights of way to Lake City and the San Juan Mining District, no more construction would be done west. The railroad went into receivership in May 1888. On July 17, 1889, the company was sold at foreclosure proceedings to the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway, a new railroad which was formed to operate the DSP&P lines. The successor company went into receivership on August 4, 1894. The Colorado and Southern Railway, chartered in 1898, took over the former DSP&P lines in January 1899. The Colorado and Southern started dismantling in 1910 with the closure of the Alpine Tunnel. In 1930, the C&S attempted to shut down the main line through the Platte Canyon, in cooperation with the Denver Board of Water Commissioners, who desired to build a dam in the canyon (See Waterton Canyon, CO). Nevertheless, the construction of modern roads in the Rockies led to a decrease in revenue and traffic. The last freight and passenger trains between Denver and Leadville operated in April 1937, and on April 10, 1937, the South Park Line officially closed down. The last regular freight train operated between Denver and Como on April 25. The last 3ft narrow gauge section, between Leadville and Climax, was converted to standard gauge on August 25, 1943.

The Denver, South Park & Pacific owned one 4 4 0 and four 2 6 0 type locomotives built by the National Locomotive Works before 1880. These locomotives were most often used to haul daily passenger trains from Denver to the South Park region of Colorado on account of their low tractive effort. Unfortunately, these small locomotives are not well documented, so little is known about them.

The Denver, South Park & Pacific owned nineteen 2 6 6T and four 2 8 6T type locomotives built by the Mason Machine Works. These locomotives had drivers that pivoted around curves and were the first non European locomotives to be fitted with Walschaerts valve gear. Because of the pivoting drivers, these locomotives were known to "hunt and wander" around curves, making them inefficient for the steep mountain grades and sharp curves that the South Park traversed. The 2 6 6T Mason Bogies are the most well known out of any of the DSP&P locomotives because of their distinct appearance. Only one Mason Bogie (DSP&P #24, named Buena Vista/ D&LG #57) survived into the Colorado & Southern era. The 2 8 6T Mason Bogies were the only locomotives of this type ever built by Mason, making them a very unique addition to the DSP&P's roster.

The Denver, South Park & Pacific owned eight 2 8 0 type locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, all of which were built in 1880. One of these locomotives (DSP&P #51/DL&G #191) is preserved and nicely restored, though not operational, at the Colorado Railroad Museum.

The Denver, South Park & Pacific owned ten 2 6 0 type locomotives built by the Brooks Locomotive Works. These were rebuilt sometime during the Colorado & Southern era to feature straight boilers rather than their original wagon top boilers. By the time the last locomotive of this type was finally scrapped in 1927, they had become only Brooks locomotives in name.

The Denver, South Park & Pacific owned twenty 2 8 0 and eight 2 6 0 type locomotives built by the Cooke Locomotive & Machine Works. The 2 8 0 locomotives were all sold off or scrapped by the Colorado & Southern by 1922. These were near identical to the earlier Baldwin 2 8 0s with the only difference being the size of the drivers, which are one inch larger. The 2 6 0 type locomotives were fitted with wagon top boilers during the C&S's modernization process and #72 still survives today in Breckenridge, Colorado as Colorado & Southern #9.

The DSP&P's original locomotives were painted in bright colors that reflect the stylistic choices of railroad executives and locomotive builders at the time. The most popular colors to see on the DSP&P in its early years were wine red, chocolate brown, and green. Locomotives were painted black in 1885 during the Union Pacific's vast re lettering program. Another distinct feature of locomotives of this time period were bright and decorative Russia Iron boiler jackets, though these were eventually either replaced or completely painted over.

Common spark arrestors to see on the early years of the South Park Line were the "Nesmith" and "Congdon" designs. These were large, round, and diamond shaped. The DSP&P's locomotives carried these until they were eventually replaced with the "McConnell" (also known as the "Pancake") design. In the years that the Colorado & Southern controlled the South Park's railway network, a common spark arrestor that could be seen after 1917 was the "Ridgway" design. For the complete roster of DSP&P/DL&G locomotives visit: https://utahrails. net/up/denver south park locos. php

See External Links for images and sites detailing different South Park locomotives.