Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
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The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (
The Rio Grande was a strong example of mountain railroading, with a motto of Through the Rockies, not around them and later Main line through the Rockies, both referring to the Rocky Mountains.
The D&RGW operated the highest mainline rail line in the
In 1988, the Rio Grande's parent corporation, Rio Grande Industries, purchased Southern Pacific Transportation Company, and as the result of a merger, the larger Southern Pacific Railroad name was chosen for identity.[2] The Rio Grande operated as a separate division of the Southern Pacific until 1992.[3] Today, most former D&RGW main lines are owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad while several branch lines are now operated as heritage railways by various companies.
History
Overview
The Denver & Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) was incorporated on October 27, 1870, by General
Feverish, competitive construction plans provoked the 1877–1880 war over right of way with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Both rivals hired gunslingers and bought politicians while courts intervened to bring settlement to the disagreements. One anecdote of the conflict recounts June, 1879, when the Santa Fe defended its roundhouse in Pueblo with Dodge City toughs led by Bat Masterson; on that occasion, D&RG treasurer R. F. Weitbrec paid the defenders to leave. In March, 1880, a Boston Court granted the AT&SF the rights to Raton Pass, while the D&RG paid an exorbitant $1.4 million for the trackage extending through the Arkansas River's Royal Gorge. The D&RG's possession of this route allowed quick access to the booming mining district of Leadville, Colorado. While this "Treaty of Boston"[5] did not exactly favor the purist of original D&RG intentions, the conquering of new mining settlements to the west and the future opportunity to expand into Utah was realized from this settlement.
By late 1880, William Bell had begun to organize railway construction in Utah that would become the Palmer controlled Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway in mid-1881. The intention of the D&RGW (aka the "Western") was to work eastward from Provo to an eventual link with westward bound D&RG in Colorado. This physical connection was realized near the Green River on March 30, 1883, and by May of that year the D&RG formally leased its Utah subsidiary as previously planned. By mid-1883, financial difficulties due to aggressive growth and expenditures led to a shake up among the D&RG board of directors, and General Palmer resigned as president of the D&RG in August, 1883, while retaining that position with the Western. Frederick Lovejoy would soon fill Palmer's vacated seat on the D&RG, the first in a succession of post Palmer presidents that would attempt to direct the railroad through future struggles and successes.
Following bitter conflict with the Rio Grande Western during lease disagreements and continued financial struggles, the D&RG went into receivership in July, 1884, with court-appointed receiver William S. Jackson in control. Eventual foreclosure and sale of the original Denver & Rio Grande Railway resulted within two years, and the new Denver & Rio Grande Railroad took formal control of the property and holdings on July 14, 1886, with Jackson appointed as president. General Palmer would continue as president of the Utah line until retirement (due to company re-organization) in 1901.[5]
Throughout the railroad's history its primary heavy repair shops were located south of
Royal Gorge Route
The D&RG built west from Pueblo reaching
The line from Pueblo to Leadville was upgraded in 1887 to
The route over Tennessee Pass had steep grades, and it was not uncommon to see trains running with midtrain and rear-end helpers. In 1997, a year after the D&RGW/SP merger with Union Pacific, the UP closed the line. Although it has been out of service for more than two decades, the rails are still in usable condition, though many of the signals have been ravaged by time and vandals. In 2011, under a federal Beautification Grant, a private contractor removed and scrapped the railroad's overhead signal pole lines.
San Juan Extension
The D&RG also pushed west from Walsenburg, Colorado, over La Veta Pass (now "Old La Veta Pass") by 1877. At the time the 'Uptop' depot on Veta Pass, rising over 9,500 feet (2,900 m) in elevation, boasted the highest elevation for a narrow-gauge railroad. The railroad reached Alamosa by 1878. From Alamosa, a line was pushed south through Antonito eventually reaching Santa Fe, New Mexico (the Chili Line), and west as far as Creede, Colorado. A line containing one of the longest narrow-gauge tangent tracks in U.S. railroading (52.82 miles or 85 kilometers) also linked Alamosa with Salida to the north. From Antonito a line was built over 10,015 feet (3,053 m) Cumbres Pass, along the Colorado-New Mexico border, reaching Durango, Colorado, in August, 1881 and continuing north to the rich mining areas around Silverton in July, 1882. A line was also constructed in 1902 as a standard-gauge line, perhaps in anticipation of possible standard gauging of the entire line, south from Durango to Farmington, New Mexico.
Part of the reason for this isolated change of gauge was that the
Portions of the
Rio Grande Southern Railroad connected to San Juan Extension in Durango and went through the western edge of San Juan Mountains to Ridgway, Colorado on Montrose–Ouray branch.
Tennessee Pass
The D&RG built west from Leadville over 10,240 feet (3,120 m)
Denver & Rio Grande Western
The first (1881-1889) Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway built a narrow-gauge line from Ogden, Utah via Soldier Summit, Utah to Grand Junction, Colorado. The railroad was reorganized as the Rio Grande Western Railway in 1889, as part of a finance plan to upgrade the line from narrow gauge to standard gauge, and built several branch lines in Utah to reach lucrative coal fields. It was the railway which Gustaf Nordenskiöld employed to haul boxcars of relics from the Mesa Verde, Colorado, cliff dwellings, in 1891, en route to the National Museum of Finland. In 1901, the Denver & Rio Grande merged with the Rio Grande Western, consolidating in 1908. However, the railroad was weakened by speculators, who had used the Rio Grande's equity to finance Western Pacific Railroad construction. The United States Railroad Administration (USRA) took over the D&RG during World War I. In 1918, the D&RG fell into receivership after the bankruptcy of Western Pacific. The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW or DRGW) was incorporated in 1920, and formally emerged as the new re-organization of the old Denver & Rio Grande Railroad on July 31, 1921.[9]
Moffat Road
In 1931, the D&RGW acquired the Denver and Salt Lake Western Railroad, a
"Fast Freights" and the California Zephyr, 1950–1983
Finally free from financial problems, the D&RGW now possessed a direct route from Denver to Salt Lake City (the detour south through Pueblo and Tennessee Pass was no longer required for direct service), but a problem still remained: for transcontinental service, the Union Pacific's more northerly line was far less mountainous (and, as a result, several hours faster). The D&RGW's solution was its "fast freight" philosophy, which employed multiple diesel locomotives pulling short, frequent trains. This philosophy helps to explain why the D&RGW, despite its proximity to one of the nation's most productive coal mining regions, retired coal-fueled steam locomotives as quickly as new, replacement diesels could be purchased. By 1956, the D&RGW's standard-gauge steam locomotives had been retired and scrapped. The reason for this was that unlike steam locomotives, diesel locomotives could easily be combined, using the diesels' multiple unit capabilities, to equip each train with the optimum horsepower which was needed to meet the D&RGW's aggressive schedule.
The D&RGW's sense of its unique geographical challenge found expression in the form of the
Even as the D&RGW exploited the best new standard-gauge technology to compete with other transcontinental carriers, the railroad continued to operate the surviving steam-powered
Two of the most scenic routes survived in operation by the D&RGW until they were sold to tourist railroad operators. The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad assumed operation of the line between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in 1970. The last D&RGW narrow-gauge line, from Durango to Silverton, was sold in 1981 to the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, exactly one hundred years after the line went into operation.
Consolidation with Southern Pacific
In 1988, Rio Grande Industries, the company that controlled the D&RGW under the direction of Philip Anschutz, purchased the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP). The D&RGW used Southern Pacific's name with SP due to its name recognition among shippers. In time, the D&RGW's fast freight philosophy gave way to SP's long-established practice of running long, slow trains. A contributing factor was the rising cost of diesel fuel, a trend that set in after the 1973 oil crisis, which gradually undermined the D&RGW's fuel-consuming "fast freight" philosophy. By the early 1990s, the combined Rio Grande/Southern Pacific system had lost much of the competitive advantage that made it attractive to transcontinental shippers, and became largely dependent on hauling the high-quality coal produced in the mine fields of Colorado and Utah.
D&RGW locomotives retained their reporting marks and colors after the consolidation with the Southern Pacific and would do so until the Union Pacific merger. The one noticeable change was to Southern Pacific's "Bloody Nose" paint scheme. The serif font on the sides of the locomotives was replaced by the Rio Grande's "speed lettering", which was utilized on all SP locomotives built or repainted after the merger.
Merger with Union Pacific
On September 11, 1996, Anschutz sold the combined D&RGW/SP system with the parent company
In 2006, Union Pacific unveiled
Presidents
The following people served as presidents (or the equivalent) of the D&RGW and its predecessors.
- William Jackson Palmer, 1870–1883
- Frederick Lovejoy, 1883–1884
- William S. Jackson, 1884–1887 (receiver, 1884–1886)
- David H. Moffat, 1887–1891
- Edward Turner Jeffery, 1891–1912
- Benjamin Franklin Bush, 1912–1915
- Henry U. Mudge, 1915–1917
- Edward L. Brown, 1917–1918
- Alexander R. Baldwin and Edward L. Brown, 1918–1921 (receivers)
- Joseph H. Young, 1921–1923 (receiver, 1922–1923)
- Thomas H. Beacom 1923–1924 (receiver)
- John S. Pyeatt, 1924–1935
- Wilson McCarthy and Henry Swan, 1935–1947 (trustees)
- Wilson McCarthy, 1947–1956
- Gale B. Aydelott ("Gus"), 1956–1977
- William J. Holtman, 1977–1992
Rolling stock
By the beginning of 1948 the company owned 318 steam locomotives, 62 diesel locomotives, 179 passenger cars and 14,662 freight cars. In 1962, there were 22 steam locomotives, 257 diesel locomotives, 96 passenger cars and 12,386 freight cars.[12]
Passenger trains
This is a partial list of D&RGW passenger trains. Westbound trains had odd numbers, while eastbound trains had even numbers. Many of the trains were named and renamed as well as being re-numbered. There are over 180 names on a complete list of all the railroad's named trains.[13]
Train numbers | Train name | Endpoints | Years of operation |
---|---|---|---|
1/2 | Scenic Limited | Denver-Salt Lake City (via Royal Gorge) | 1906–1946[14] |
1/2 | Royal Gorge | Denver-Grand Junction (via Royal Gorge) | 1946–1967[14][15] |
3/4 | Colorado Eagle | St. Louis-Denver | 1942–1971[16] |
5/6 | The Exposition Flyer
|
Chicago-Oakland | 1939–1949 |
7/8 | Prospector
|
Denver-Salt Lake City/Ogden | 1941–1942; 1945–1967 |
9/10 | Yampa Valley Mail
|
Denver-Craig | 1949–1963[17] |
9/10 | Yampa Valley | Denver-Craig | 1963–1968[17] |
17/18 | California Zephyr | Chicago-Oakland | 1949–1970; 1983–Present (operated by Amtrak) |
17/18 | Rio Grande Zephyr | Denver-Salt Lake City-Ogden | 1970–1983 |
19/20 | Mountaineer
|
Denver-Grand Junction-Montrose | 1936–1959 |
115/116 | San Juan Express (previously called the Colorado and New Mexico Express) | Alamosa-Durango | 1937–1951[13] |
315/316 | Shavano
|
Salida-Gunnison | 1937–1940 |
461/462 | The Silverton
|
Durango-Silverton | 1947–1980 (summer only)[18] |
Special | Ski Train
|
Denver-Winter Park | 1940–2009 (operated by ANSCO after 1988), 2016–present (operated by Amtrak) |
6/10 | Cumbres And Toltec Scenic Railroad | Antinito-Chama | 1970–present (operated by Cumbres and Toltec Railroad) |
Remnants
The Union Pacific acquired all D&RG owned assets at the time of the merger. The UP operates the former D&RGW main line as part of its
Still-active and rebuilt features
Active rail assets tracing their heritage to the D&RGW that are not part of the Union Pacific network today include:
- California Zephyr – formerly operated by the D&RGW, is still active, but today operated by Amtrak.
- The Amtrak depots used for the California Zephyr in the cities of Helper, Green River and Glenwood Springs are the original depots built by the D&RGW. The Amtrak depot in Grand Junction sits next to the abandoned D&RGW depot.
- FrontRunner – a commuter rail service in Utah. The portion between Salt Lake City and Provo is a parallel track built alongside the former D&RGW main.
- Bingham Canyon mine
- Rock and Rail LLC
- Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad
- Sugar Housebranch.
- Winter Park Expressoperated by Amtrak, formerly the Ski Train
- Utah Central Railway
Heritage railways
- San Juan Line (now isolated from the national rail network) that operates scenic trips over this route between Antonito, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico.
- Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which has been operating since 1881, provides scenic day trips from Durango to Silverton, along an isolated remnant of the San Juan line.
- Heber Valley Historic Railroad provides scenic trips through the upper portion of Provo Canyon. The track was a branch of the D&RGW main at Provo, but is today isolated from the national rail network.
- Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is a heritage train on a still-active branch of the former D&RGW. However, it ceased operations in 2019.
- Royal Gorge Route Railroad operates over a 12-mile (19 km) portion of the intact, but otherwise disused Royal Gorge/Tennessee Pass line.
Re-purposed assets
- La Veta Pass Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot- A railroad depot on La Veta Pass used by the D&RGW until 1899.
- D & RGW Narrow Gauge Trestle - A trestle from the abandoned Marshall Pass line.
- The portion of the former D&RG main between Salt Lake City and Ogden, Utah, abandoned after the merger with the Union Pacific, is now a rail trail.
- Similarly, the portion of the Thistle–Marysvale branch through Marysvale Canyon is today a rail trail, which includes several tunnels.
Museums
The largest collection of surviving California Zephyr equipment can be found at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum at Portola, California, although this museum focuses on the Western Pacific Railroad, rather than the Rio Grande.
Museums that focus on the D&RGW include:
- Colorado Railroad Museum
- Western Mining and Railroad Museum in Helper, Utah
- Union Station (Ogden, Utah)
Museums using former D&RGW depots as buildings include:
- Denver and Rio Grande Depot (Montrose, Colorado)
- Denver and Rio Grande Western Depot (Salt Lake City)
See also
- List of Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad lines
- Narrow-gauge railroads in the United States
- Texas and St. Louis Railway
- Rio Grande 223
- Rio Grande 168
- Rio Grande 169
- Rio Grande 268
- Rio Grande 278
- Rio Grande 315
- Rio Grande 463
References
- ^ "Home". railroadglorydays.com.
- ^ Robert A. Rosenblatt (August 10, 1988). "SP Is Allowed to Merge With Denver Rail Line : Decision by ICC Ends Battle Over Ownership of Carrier and Creates 5th-Biggest System in U.S." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ "D&RGW Corporate History". DRGW.NET. March 19, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2021.
- ^ Athearn 1962, p. 15
- ^ a b c Athearn 1962[page needed]
- ISBN 0-8263-1185-7
- ^ "Farmington Branch". www.actionroad.net. Archived from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved November 29, 2013.
- ^ a b Henderson 1926, p. 61
- ^ Athearn 1962, pp. 241–243
- ^ "First Trains Enter Cut Into Rockies". Berkeley Daily Gazette. June 16, 1934. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
- ^ Athearn 1957, p. 1
- ^ "Equipment Summaries". iD&RGW Online Archive. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ a b "Rio Grande Passenger Trains". drgw.org. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ a b "Scenic Limited". drgw.org. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ "Royal Gorge". Railroad Emporium. Archived from the original on November 17, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ "Colorado Eagle". American Rails.
- ^ a b "Yampa Valley Mail". drgw.org. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
- ^ "Passenger". April 17, 2015. Archived from the original on April 17, 2015. Retrieved May 6, 2018.
Bibliography
- Armitage, Merle (1948). Operations Santa Fe. Duell, Sloane & Pearce. pp. 9–15. ASIN B01KBHK7ZE.
- Athearn, Robert G. (January 1957). "Railroad Renaissance In The Rockies". Utah Historical Quarterly. XXXV (1): 1–26. S2CID 254438817.
- Athearn, Robert G. (1962). Rebel of the Rockies : The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300002768.
- Athearn, Robert G. (1977). The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, Rebel of the Rockies. Lincoln, Nebraska: Bison Books.
- ISBN 978-1399174497.
- Beebe, L.; Clegg, C (1962). Rio Grande - Mainline of the Rockies. Howell-North.
- "Colorado Rail Annual, No. 11". 1981. )
- Griffin, James R. (2003). Rio Grande Railroad. MBI Publishing Company LLC. ISBN 0-7603-1442-X.
- Grenard, Ross B. (1992). Rio Grande In Color, Volume 1. Morning Sun Books. ISBN 1-878887-11-4.
- Henderson, Charles William (1926). Mining in Colorado. Vol. U.S. Geologic Survey Professional paper 138. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p. 61. (Includes table of locations and dates of line extensions.)
- Sandrin, James (1998). Rio Grande In Color, Volume 2. Morning Sun Books. ISBN 1-878887-94-7.
- Starr, Timothy (2024). The Back Shop Illustrated, Volume 3: Southeast and Western Regions. Privately printed.
- Stewart, Paul Logan (1931). The History Of The Denver And Rio Grande Railway, 1871–1881 (Thesis). Boulder, Colorado: University of Colorado.
- Thode, Jackson C. (1972). A Century of Passenger Trains... And Then Some. Rocky Mountain Railroad Club.
Further reading
- Brayer, Herbert Oliver. William Blackmore: Early Financing of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway 1871–1878. Volume two. Denver: 1949.
- Farewell, R.C. "Rio Grande: Ruler of the Rockies." 1987, Trans-Anglo Books ISBN 0870460803.
- Taniguchi, Nancy J. (1994), "The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railway Company", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the originalon March 23, 2024, retrieved April 13, 2024
External links
- Rio Grande Info
- Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society
- The 1910 Heavyweight D&RG Business Car 101 now the Abraham Lincoln
- Rio Grande Scenic Railroad Archived 2015-07-13 at the Wayback Machine
- Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum
- Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
- Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
- A Guide to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Company correspondence, NC998 Archived 2016-04-27 at the Wayback Machine. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.