| Rio Grande Southern Railroad | |
|---|---|
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RGS Caboose #0402, 1940 |
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| Locale | Colorado |
| Dates of operation | 1892–1951 |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
| Headquarters | Durango |
The Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) was a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad which ran from Durango to Ridgway in the western part of the US state of Colorado. Its right of way can be traced by going west from Durango to Mancos on Rte 160, then to Dolores via Rte 184, north across Lizard Head Pass (10,222 ft or 3,116 m) to Placerville using Rte 145, with the final leg Rte 62 to Ridgway.
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The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) had built branch lines to the mining towns of Silverton and Ouray, but the San Juan Mountains between Ouray and Silverton were too formidable to allow the building of a railroad directly connecting the two towns. The Silverton Railroad, built north from Silverton, had reached within 8 miles (12.9 km) of Ouray, but the remaining stretch through the Uncompahgre Gorge was considered too difficult. A cog railway was briefly considered but was never built.
The RGS was founded in 1889 by Otto Mears, and construction began in 1890 from Ridgway (north of Ouray) and Durango (south of Silverton) to go around the most rugged part of the San Juan Mountains and also reach the mining towns of Rico and Telluride. The line was completed only a little time before the Silver Panic of 1893 which resulted in most of the mines closing overnight and the railroad losing most of its traffic. The railroad struggled to survive against all odds through the Great Depression but was finally closed in 1951.
As the Rio Grande Southern was never a wealthy railroad, its locomotives were all second or more hand, mostly from the Denver and Rio Grande/Denver and Rio Grande Western, which owned the RGS for most of its history. Most of the locomotives that came to the road were old and worn out, some even being pulled off the scrap line and pressed into RGS service. The road only had one car built new for itself. In later years, most of its freight cars were retired cars from the abandoned Colorado and Southern narrow gauge system.
Today, much of the former D&RG and RGS rolling stock has new life in tourism, including the Western River Railroad and Knott's Berry Farm railways, as well as the famed Silverton Train (which has been in continuous steam service since 1881) and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. The Knott's Berry Farm trains are maintained with their original colors and railroad identification.
The route passed over Dallas Divide west of Ridgway and over Lizard Head Pass north of Rico. The most famous structure on the route was the Ophir Loop near Ophir. At this point the railroad was built up a narrow mountain valley and looped back up the other side to gain elevation over several tall trestles.
The RGS filed with the Interstate Commerce Commission for abandonment on 24 April 1952.
In Durango the terminus of the Rio Grande Southern was at the West end of the railroad Bridge over the Animas River, just South of Lightner Creek. This bridge no longer exists and the West side of the Animas River is now Durango's dog park. Due to contamination at the smelter site (just south of the dog park) much grading and remediation has been done in this area, as well as large boulders added for rip-rap along the riverbank. As a result nothing of the RGS exists in this area, the first traces you will find are at the West edge of the dog park, there the soil goes from red to tan and you will start finding coal.
The most famous aspect of the RGS was its fleet of Galloping Geese. During the Great Depression it became increasingly expensive to operate trains over the mountain railroad. The RGS came up with a concept to build a rail car out of a car or bus body front end and a box car rear end. Seven Geese were built for the RGS, all but one of which survive to this day. The front of no. 1 is on the front of number 6. A Goose was built by RGS for the San Cristobal Railroad in 1933. It was returned to the RGS in 1939 and dismantled, with parts going to rebuild Goose #2. The Goose at Knott's Berry Farm still operates in the function it was designed for -- to run a cost-effective rail service on days when demand does not require full-size trains (mostly weekdays during Fall, Winter and Spring in this year-round theme park).
| Goose | Built | Type | Current Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 1931 | Buick | Replica at the Ridgway Railway Museum |
| #2 | 1931 | Buick | Colorado Railroad Museum |
| #3 | 1932 | Pierce-Arrow orig, Wayne Bus Body | Knotts Berry Farm |
| #4 | 1932 | Pierce-Arrow orig, Wayne Bus Body | Currently undergoing restoration in Ridgway, Colorado |
| #5 | 1933 | Pierce-Arrow orig, Wayne Bus Body | Dolores, Colorado |
| #6 | 1934 | Buick | Colorado Railroad Museum |
| #7 | 1936 | Pierce Arrow | Colorado Railroad Museum |
Silver San Juan: Mallory Hope Ferrell, 1973, Pruett Press, Boulder, CO, 643 pages (hardcover). ISBN 0-87108-057-5.