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The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
until it was absorbed into the
Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...
in 1981. The railway began as the consolidation of bankrupt railroads in 1898. The
Colorado Central Railroad The Colorado Central Railroad was a U.S. railroad company that operated in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in the late 19th century. It was founded in the Colorado Territory in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush to ship gold from the mountains ...
and
Cheyenne and Northern Railway The Cheyenne and Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The railroad was incorporated in 1886 to build a line from Cheyenne, Wyoming into northern Wyoming and Montana. The line extended to Wendover on the North Platte Riv ...
were brought together to form the
Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway The Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway was a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad created from what was the Colorado Central Railroad in 1890. It operated lines from Denver, Colorado through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Wendover, Wyoming and a route f ...
in 1890. When Union Pacific went bankrupt in 1893 they were separated from the Union Pacific and united with the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway and others, by Frank Trumbull to form the Colorado and Southern Railroad in 1898. In 1908 the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
bought control of the C&S. It would later merge into the
Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...
in 1981. At the end of 1970 it operated 692 miles of road on 1116 miles of track; that year it reported of revenue freight. In 1980 route-miles had dropped to 678 but ton-miles had ballooned to : Powder River coal had arrived. C&S was also the parent company of the
Fort Worth and Denver Railway The Fort Worth and Denver Railway , nicknamed "the Denver Road", was a class I American railroad company that operated in the northern part of Texas from 1881 to 1982, and had a profound influence on the early settlement and economic development ...
, which ran from a connection at Texline south and east into
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. The FW&D was established as a separate company because Texas law required that railroads operating within its borders must be incorporated within that state.


Narrow gauge

The Colorado and Southern 3-ft-gauge lines were formed in 1898 from the Colorado Central and the
Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the ...
s. The narrow gauge operations had four distinct portions: the
Platte Canyon The Platte Canyon is a deep, narrow, scenic gorge on the South Platte River in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. The canyon is southwest of Denver on the border between Jefferson and Douglas counties. The canyon is at the entrance to the mountain ...
Line from
Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
to
Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...
, the Gunnison Line from Como to Gunnison via
Alpine Tunnel Alpine Tunnel is a narrow gauge railroad tunnel located east of Pitkin, Colorado on the former Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad route from Denver to Gunnison. At an elevation of , it was the first tunnel constructed through the Contine ...
, Highline between Como and
Leadville The City of Leadville is a statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated ...
, and the Clear Creek rail line from Denver to Silver Plume. Major Branch lines were the Baldwin branch between Gunnison and Baldwin; the Keystone from Dickey to Keystone; the Blackhawk branch between Forks Creek and
Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...
; the Alma Branch from Como to
Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' (play), a 1996 drama by Joshua Sobol about Alma ...
; and the Morrison Branch from Denver to
Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...
. The Colorado and Southern narrow gauge operations never owned a new engine, all the motive power was inherited from the former companies. The Gilpin Railroad (earlier the Gilpin Tramway Company) was a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge railway in
Gilpin County Gilpin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado, smallest in land area behind only the City and County of Broomfield. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,808. The county seat is Central City. The county was formed in 18 ...
operating from 1887 to 1917. However, on June 27, 1906, the Gilpin had been sold to the Colorado and Southern.


Downfall of the narrow gauge

The Colorado and Southern narrow gauge was slowly abandoned piece by piece in the 33 years between 1910 and 1943. The first line to close was part of the Gunnison Line between Hancock and Quartz. This included Alpine Tunnel, although rail was not removed until the 1940s. The isolated segments between Quartz and Gunnison and Gunnison to Baldwin were leased and later sold to the
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...
. Quartz to Gunnison survived until 1936 and the Baldwin Branch lasted until 1954. The next line to be ripped up was between Garos and
Buena Vista Buena Vista, meaning "good view" in Spanish, may refer to: Places Canada *Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, with the name being originally derived from “Buena Vista” *Buena Vista, Saskatchewan *Buena Vista, Saskatoon, a neighborhood in ...
. This left another isolated line between Buena Vista and Hancock, which was abandoned four years later. The Morrison Branch was removed in 1926. In 1931 the portion of the Blackhawk branch between
Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...
and
Blackhawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus urub ...
was removed. Times were tough during the
Great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and by the end the narrow gauge was worn out. What was left of the former Denver South Park & Pacific between Denver and Leadville including the Alma and Keystone branches was removed in the Summer of 1938, excluding the 20-mile portion between Denver and Waterton and the 14-mile segment between Leadville and
Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...
. The next line to fall was between Silver Plume and
Idaho Springs The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...
, in 1939. This included the famous
Georgetown Loop The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a narrow gauge United States heritage railroad located in the Rocky Mountains in Clear Creek County, adjacent to Interstate 70 in Colorado. This tourist train runs between the communities of Georgetown and S ...
. In May 1941 the last of the Clear Creek lines began being torn up between
Golden, Colorado Golden is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States Censu ...
and Idaho Springs. This included the Blackhawk branch. The
dual-gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to ca ...
third rail that had allowed narrow-gauge trains to run between Denver and Golden was also removed. (However, the
standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...
segment still exists today to serve the Coors Brewery.) Most of the track was removed in 1942 between Waterton and Chatfield. The rest was converted to standard gauge, ending all narrow-gauge service out of Denver. The last narrow-gauge operation, between Leadville and the Climax mines, was converted to standard gauge to handle heavy traffic from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The last Colorado and Southern narrow-gauge train, pulled by engine 76, ran the 28 mile roundtrip on August 25, 1943. The next day standard-gauge locomotives began hauling the loads. The C&S narrow gauge thus became part of history.


Narrow gauge today

Not much of the narrow gauge survives today. There are five surviving Locomotives: C&S #31 ( Baldwin, 1880) is at the
Colorado Railroad Museum The Colorado Railroad Museum is a non-profit railroad museum. The museum is located on at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains in Golden, Colorado. The museum was established in 1959 to preserve a record of C ...
painted as Denver Leadville and Gunnison 191, C&S#71 (pictured above) (Baldwin, 1897) is on display in
Central City, Colorado The historic City of Central, commonly known as Central City, is a home rule municipality located in Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, Colorado, United States. Central City is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gilpin County. ...
, C&S #9 (
Cooke Cooke is a surname derived from the occupation of cook. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Cooke (died 1614), English actor * Alfred Tyrone Cooke, of the Indo-Pakistani wars * Alistair Cooke KBE (1908–2004), British-American j ...
, 1884) is on display in
Breckenridge, Colorado The Town of Breckenridge is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Summit County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,078 at the 2020 United States Census. Breckenridge is the pr ...
, C&S #60 (
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, 1886) is on display in
Idaho Springs, Colorado The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 ...
, and C&S #74 (
Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States *Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine *Brooks Township, Michigan * ...
, 1898) is currently on display at the Colorado Railroad Museam in Golden, Colorado. Two roundhouses survive in
Como, Colorado Como is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Park County, Colorado, Park County in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado, United States. According to the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population of zip code 804 ...
and
Leadville, Colorado The City of Leadville is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory city, statutory city that is the county seat, the most populous community, and the only List of municipalities in Colorado, incorporated municipality in Lake County, Colorad ...
. Rolling stock has been scattered across the US. Some are on display in Colorado, one
mail car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passen ...
found its way to Nebraska, and some
boxcar A boxcar is the North American ( AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...
s are on the
White Pass and Yukon Route The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&Y, WP&YR) is a Canadian and U.S. Class III narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railr ...
in Alaska. Remaining Water towers are the French Gulch tank near Leadville, Bakers tank near Breckenridge, and Halfway tank near Alpine Tunnel. The
Georgetown Loop The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a narrow gauge United States heritage railroad located in the Rocky Mountains in Clear Creek County, adjacent to Interstate 70 in Colorado. This tourist train runs between the communities of Georgetown and S ...
was rebuilt as a tourist railroad in the 1980s and can be ridden from April through the first week in January.


Predecessor railroads

The following lines were consolidated between 1890 and 1900 to form the C&S: *Canon de Agua Railroad *
Cheyenne and Northern Railway The Cheyenne and Northern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The railroad was incorporated in 1886 to build a line from Cheyenne, Wyoming into northern Wyoming and Montana. The line extended to Wendover on the North Platte Riv ...
*Chicosa Canon Railway *
Colorado Central Railroad The Colorado Central Railroad was a U.S. railroad company that operated in Colorado and southeastern Wyoming in the late 19th century. It was founded in the Colorado Territory in the wake of the Colorado Gold Rush to ship gold from the mountains ...
*Denver, Cripple Creek and Southwestern Railroad * Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway **
Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the ...
*Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway *Denver and Middle Park Railroad * Denver, Texas and Fort Worth Railroad *Denver, Texas and Gulf Railroad *
Georgetown, Breckenridge and Leadville Railway The Georgetown, Breckenridge and Leadville Railway was a railroad in Colorado incorporated in 1880. A portion of the line, known as the Georgetown Loop, was a tourism destination during the railroad company's operating period, and was rebuilt in ...
* Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific Railway *Leadville Mineral Belt Railway *Road Canon Railroad *
Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway The Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway was a subsidiary of Union Pacific Railroad created from what was the Colorado Central Railroad in 1890. It operated lines from Denver, Colorado through Cheyenne, Wyoming to Wendover, Wyoming and a route f ...


See also

*
Gilpin tramway The Gilpin Railroad, earlier the Gilpin Tramway Company, was a narrow gauge railway in Gilpin County, Colorado, in operation from 1887 to 1917. Gold extraction In April 1859, John H. Gregory discovered alluvial gold in Clear Creek, near Golde ...
* *


References


External links


Colorado Historical Society: C&S Collection
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Colorado Southern Railway Defunct Colorado railroads Defunct New Mexico railroads Defunct Wyoming railroads Railway companies established in 1898 Railway companies disestablished in 1981 Predecessors of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Former Class I railroads in the United States 3 ft gauge railways in the United States