Three little lines

The branch to Green Mountain operated only a short time because the mines up that way turned out to be poor producers. The part from Eureka to Animas Forks is claimed never to have paid expenses and soon quit regular operation though occasional trains ran up there until sometime in the twenties. Mears offered the right-of-way to the county if it would take up the track, which it did, and Mr. Meyer hauled the junk down in 1936.[4] Like the S. R., it was a road to begin with and ended up by being one again.

The section from Silverton to Eureka revived and lasted the longest of any of the three little railroads. Ore was shipped over it from the Sunnyside mine and mill until 1939 when the mine closed down because of a miner’s strike.

In the summer of 1942 the property was advertised for sale for $17,000 in delinquent taxes. Mrs. Cora Pitcher, Mears’s daughter, sold it to the Dullen Steel Products Company and paid the taxes. This company shipped the shop equipment, rails and rolling stock out in October.

The United States had, after it became involved in war with Japan, established military bases in Alaska. The railroad there, the White Pass and Yukon, needed more motive power and the government requisitioned the three locomotives, the 3, 4, and 34. There, so R. E. Cooper states, they were re-numbered to 22, 23 and 24, respectively. In 1947 word was received from the War Surplus Board and the W. P. & Y. Ry. that twelve engines—7 D. & R. G., 2 C. & S. and 3 S. N.—had been received by the Alaska Railroad but when Diesel power was obtained there, all except No. 34 (24) were returned to Seattle to M. Block & Co., a junking outfit. The last known of the 34, it was sitting in the railroad yards at Skagway, Alaska, in a state of dismantlement.

In 55 years, 1887 to 1942, the three little Silverton railroads started, prospered, declined and perished and nothing, unless one considers still discernible roadbeds and rotting ties, remains to attest their existence. No equipment except one coach, which is scarcely recognizable as such, has survived. A few little relics such as small amounts of paper material, a goodly number of pictures and S. R. buckskin, silver and gold passes have survived and they are scattered from one end of the United States to the other. Pathetic mementos they are, for agents that played such a large part in the life and prosperity of their community.

THE FOLLOWING PAGES....
Views and Documents of Narrow Gauge Railroading in the San Juan Mountains.

STATE OF COLORADO
United States of America.
FIRST MORTGAGE SIX PER CENT GOLD BOND
The Silverton, Gladstone and Northerly Railroad Company.

The course of the traveler on the Denver & Rio Grande’s great “Around the Circle” tour is indicated by arrows. Start may be made from Denver, Colorado Springs or Manitou, or Pueblo. At Ridgway, on the western turn, the course divides. The traveler may follow the arrows by the outer, “All Rail,” route; or he may take the inner, “Rail and Stage,” denoted by the arrows and dots. When purchasing his ticket he has his choice, the “Circle” round-trip fare being the same in either case. The various side trips marked should not be neglected. For them special low rates are granted; the “Circle” ticket permits stop-overs.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Abbot, Morris W.—Contributor of reports and “Transactions” from the Yale Library

Airy, Mrs. Percy—The story of entertaining Mears

Baker, Bert—Data on the snowshed, the explosion and the snowslides

Beaber, Ross—Publisher of the Silverton Standard—much assistance

Camp, A. M.—A nephew of John L. McNeil who was an incorporator and secretary-treasurer of the S. R. and the R. G. S.—data

Cooper, Ray—Silverton and S. R. history

Cooper, R. E.—Data on engines

Day, Vest—A member of the survey crew on the S. N.—data and stories

Dresbach, Joe—An auditor and general superintendent of the S. N.—data and assistance

Fischer, Robert A—Work on the S. R. map

Ferguson, John—Information on the Meldrum and Treasury Tunnels

Gibbs, Mr. and Mrs. Charles W.—Mr. Gibbs was Chief Engineer and builder of the S. R., part of the S. N. and most of the R. G. S.—data.

Henry, Myron—Data concerning the S. R.

Keenan, John—Information on the Meldrum and Treasury Tunnels

Keller, John—Data on the Shay engine and a S. G. & N. coach

Marshall, John—Data on the mines and history of the region and contributor of reports from the Los Angeles Library

Meyer, Edward—A locomotive engineer on all three railroads and a superintendent of the S. N.—much information

Railway and Locomotive Historical Society—Loan of the copyright of most of the material herein

Ridgway, Arthur—General Superintendent of the Silverton Railway and the S. N. in 1904 and ’05. He was also Engineer and Chief Engineer for the D. & R. G. for about fifty years.

Speer, Marion A.—A member of the construction crew on the S. N.—data

Terry, John—His father and uncle were owners of the Sunnyside mine—data

Terry, Mrs. William—Her husband was half-owner of the Sunnyside—stories

Wampler, Harold—Loan of Mears letters

Wigglesworth, William—Constructor of the Boston Coal and Fuel Co. line—data concerning his father, Thomas Wigglesworth

Footnotes

Transcriber’s Notes

• Retained publication information from the printed edition: this eBook is public-domain in the country of publication.
• Silently corrected a few typos.
• Transcribed some text within images.
• In the text versions only, text in italics is delimited by _underscores_.