Monday, December 28, 2015

Help To Identify Location | 4 Comments - Click Here :

    Darel Leedy - Don Peterson and I made the drive to Boulder Sunday evening for dinner and a slide show at John Tempelton's humble abode. We were joined by a couple of other fellow enthusiasts and were first treated to color slides of the C&Sng in my honor. Then Mike Danneman and Rich Farewell presented spectacular views of their trips to the Soldier Summit area in Utah and then British Columbia. Thanks again for hosting John!
    John then forwarded an email from Mel Patrick. Mel would like assistance identifying the location of the photo below. His original email:
Took this photo in May 1973 showing a remnant of the C&S (DSP&P) narrow gauge, about 3/4 miles west of Union Station. From my 1913 Denver street & RR map, I can not pin down such a diamond crossing. What are the tracks crossing and exactly where was this?

Friday, December 25, 2015

Merry Christmas! | 1 Comments - Click Here :


    Darel Leedy - Introducing Wilson. I am sure his great grand Pappy (pictured below, first in line) would have approved of his new status as historical curator of the C&Sn3 blog. I just hope he isn't going to be too much of an ass around here. 
Wilson, Roper and I would like to wish all C&S fans a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Roundhouse Progress | 7 Comments - Click Here :


Don Pacetti sent along this progress photo of his Como roundhouse. You can view photos of C&Sn3 members modeling and layouts by clicking the links below the main title header at the top of the page. Enjoy if you visit!

Friday, November 27, 2015

Back In The Saddle | 3 Comments - Click Here :

 
Don Pacetti's HOn3 layout currently under construction. See the layout database under the main header for more.

    Darel Leedy - (Blog post #200!) We hope you'all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. After an extended hiatus of not posting, Roper and I are ready to settle into winter mode and get some modelling done. We hope to be posting views of some completed scenery soon!
    I've also invited my friend Keith Pashina to blog about his Gilpin Tram modeling both here and in the forum (the Gilpin was owned and operated by the C&S). Keith and I go way back with a common interest of all things Gilpin.
    A few others have also expressed interest in contributing to the blog as well. Don Pacetti will be blogging about his HOn3 modeling. I have added his layout to the database which can be viewed by clicking "Como HOn3"  just below the main header of the blog.
    I want to take a moment to thank you all for making the Discussion Forum such a phenomenal success! I am simply amazed at the amount of information being shared and discovered (thus taking the pressure off of getting things posted to the blog!). I don't think you can find a better resource of C&S information anywhere online. Much of it so new you won't find it in any publications either.
    Thanks also to all the other model railroad bloggers out there no matter your subject matter. Your posts are an inspiration to keep Roper and I populating the Blogosphere.

~ Cowboy Up!

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

New Files Uploaded | 3 Comments - Click Here :



    Darel Leedy - As a reminder, be sure to check out the "Files" tab under the main header. Many a wonderful high resolution document have been posted here. A big thank you to all who have shared their information! If you have something you'd like to share, send me an email by clicking on the Moderator's profile, and I will provide the necessary procedure.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Harry Brunk's 30 Year Old Mystery: More Pieces | 1 Comments - Click Here :

    Chris Walker - Here I present you with a couple more pieces of the Jigsaw that is Idaho Springs.  The Conx#8 Tankcar unloading site that has evaded location for all these years.
    I am amazed that I haven't caught this earlier and I bet Harry Brunk will be too if he ever sees this info!  It has been under our very noses for so long, and it took my understanding of the rise and demise of the Milling industry in Idaho Springs to bring these pieces together.
    I had often looked into this [1940] scene in The Mineral Belt III,  just another general view of Idaho Springs and one I thought that Digerness had got the date wrong. There appeared to be no track structure present on the roadbed.  Several people are visible on the r-o-w so I (wrongly) assumed it was post-abandonment until the penny dropped:  I had failed to notice #60 and Coach are not on display between the gas-station and the creek.  They came later in 1941.  This was one important piece of the jigsaw.


From pg 252 of The Mineral Belt V-III, David S. Digerness, Sundance Pub. 1982


Accordingly enlarged to reveal as best as can be presented here;

"A" the Silver Group of 3 Structures. As also revealed in DPL X-2283.
"B" a Black object larger than automobiles on the post-1930 alignment of the Chicago Creek Hwy 103.
"C" the wedge-shaped structure.


    Above is the Sanborn Postcard from my collection that I was uncertain of the date, could these have both been taken on the same day?  It shows the same structure "C"  and the previously un-noticed black object "B",  could this be CONX #8?  The "A" structure group doesn't stand out at all.
    The location of "B" certainly fits with being at the very end of the Jackson Mill siding shown incomplete on the 1908 Sanborn Map.


    Cross checking with other pictures in the DPL collection yielded this DPL X-2283 enlargement of the Silver Group of  3 Structures which to my eye, resembles two gabled out buildings with a horizontal Tank in between.  Not quite the conclusive proof that this could be the CONOCO Depot as I see no signage present to indicate such a dealership.

    The reader may note in Harry Brunk's January/February 1989 Gazette title photo, a pipe is visible laying alongside the siding trackage in back of the CONX #8 which would indicate the the Fuel load was pumped to a storage Tank most likely out of sight to the left of picture.  Let's not forget the existence of new, painted structures in this area of old, gritty Mill structures does add to the positive side of the ledger.


DPL X-2283  

More for your deliberations.....
Chris Walker
in New Zealand

Friday, September 11, 2015

Harry Brunk's 30 Year Old Mystery: Another Piece Of The Jigsaw | 6 Comments - Click Here :

    Chris Walker - In the NG&SL Gazette January/February 1989 issue, in Up Clear Creek On The Narrow Gauge Part 54, Harry Brunk wrote:

" Other information is still elusive.  We know that a CONOCO tank car was delivered to Idaho Springs.  My thanks to Art Gibson who provided an interesting photo of CONX 8 unloading there.  My fellow researcher, Jim Coats, continues to search for its exact destination.  Someone at the Idaho Springs convention mentioned that CONX 8 may have been consigned solely for Diesel and gasoline deliveries to the Big 5 Tunnel operation. "

      That CONX 8 tank car picture was posted later in the Nov/Dec'89 NG&SL Gazette issue:

CONX #8 is shown at Idaho Springs in the summer of 1940, apparently draining her load into an underground 
storage tank. Ormand Kelley took this photo with Frank O. Kelley standing in front of the car. This is a rare view 
of this car out of a train in Idaho Springs. Photo, collection of W.A. Gibson Jr.

Harry went on to write in Part 59 of his series,

"For several years, my friend, Jim Coats, has been searching for the spot where CONX #8 unloaded her cargo in Idaho Springs, Colorado.  Jim has access to good sources, but neither the local residents, who were around during the railroad years, or official records have provided an answer."

Harry subsequently wrote,

"Don Meeker, owner of Colorado Scale Models, told me that rail history buff, Bob Stull, has information that CONX #8 may have been contracted to the Big Five Tunnel operation on the western edge of Idaho Springs.  Whether these loads were always Diesel fuel, or sometimes gasoline, this contract would fit with how the car seems to have been operated."

"  When art Gibson sent the title photo by Ormond Kelley, he mentioned that it was the only photo he had ever seen that showed CONX #8 on its siding at Idaho Springs.  The tank car is being unloaded at what seems the western edge of town.  It is highly likely that the load is being dumped into an underground tank, since the structure just visible on the right of the photo is quite distant from the car and is actually on the other side of Clear Creek."

Here is an enlargement of the scenery and the "Structure" in the picture.

    Ever since that Nov/Dec '89 NG&SL Gazette arrived in my mailbox, this intrigued me as I kept thinking that the background at the Big 5 Tunnel siding didn't fit with what I thought I saw on my '82 trip.  Over the years I revisited and came to the conclusion it was just "somewhere else" in Idaho Springs.   Eventually I was to become very good friends with Bob Stull and his wife Lynn but I just plain forgot to revisit this mystery with Bob.

    A decade or so ago, an Antique shop owner friend in California photographed several Postcards she was selling as she knew of my interests and sent them to me.  These were also put away in the "nice to have" file but not relevant to the Mill photos that I sought.  After recently re-reading Harry's excellent articles and delving into this matter, my interest was reawakened...... and thanks to Google Streetview I was able to revisit I.S. from 7400 miles away.

Looking South at about the location of the Big 5 Tunnel Siding....of which I have never seen a photo of yet!
Looking North as close as I can get, just a few yards further West due to an Interstate sound wall.

    Looking hard at the "Structure" I concluded that it wasn't on the other side of Clear Creek but much closer, appearing not to be a large structure like a Mill but more smaller like a Ore chute and the open front also resembled a sloped chute.  Behind the Tank car there was no high canyon walls but a low, pine covered slope with a distant Ridge visible behind, and also a rather pronounced line of rock such as found at a mine waste dump or mill tailings pile that intrigued me....

A quick recheck on the now familiar Chicago Creek Confluence area yielded this picture at the former location 
of the Hudson Mill and the Jackson Mill. There is a Forest Service Building here now, slightly further 
up the creek is the newish I.S. High School built on the site of the Waltham Cyanide Plant.

    That "distant Ridge" seen behind the Handbrake end of CONX 8 is actually almost where the Big 5 Tunnel penetrated the hills separating Clear Creek from Virginia Canyon.   Given that this area would have had remediation work done here the scene is remarkable consistent.

    Enter the filed away Sanborn postcard...  Note visible in this view "around 1940" there now is no Jackson Mill, nor Hudson Mill either and the "new" Mill that adjoined the old Wiley Sampler with an overhead Conveyor shed that spanned the C&S tracks can be made out, just !   The I.S. Depot is still in its original location but as to whether this photo is before or after abandonment I cannot say.

    "A"  is the Waltham Cyanide Plant,  "B" maybe the "Structure" seen behind CONX #8, and C is the roadbed of
the Big 5 Tunnel tramway that served the Hudson Mill.

    "A"  is the Waltham Cyanide Plant,  "B" maybe the "Structure" seen behind CONX #8, and C is the roadbed of the Big 5 Tunnel tramway that served the Hudson Mill.

    Keep in mind until I posted the following views here http://c-sn3-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Idaho-Springs-Mid-Town-Ore-Processing-Part-3-tp2512.html, proof of the C&S trackage serving the Jackson and Hudson Mills had not yet been brought to light.



I will leave this to your deliberation as to whether I am correct in my conclusion, or way off base....

Chris Walker
in New Zealand

Friday, August 28, 2015

Backdrop Completed | 15 Comments - Click Here :

    Darel Leedy -  Over the course of the last couple of months, my friend Don Peterson and I spent a few Friday nights working to complete the backdrop which surrounds Dickey. I'll let the pictures do the talking (those of you who read via email will have to bring up the blog to read the captions):

Looking north (westward by timetable).

Looking south (eastward by timetable).


Before Don arrived, my first step was to project the photos I had taken in December of 2012, when the drought level
of Dillon Reservoir had receded enough to expose Dickey.

I also projected an image I had made from Google Earth. I was amazed at how closely the two images compared!
I then traced the images onto the entire backdrop.

Don then worked his magic paint brushes, and the results make it feel like standing in Dickey a hundred years ago.

Here, Don does his most favorite thing in the world, Lol. We took the suggestion of Mike Danneman, and started
by painting the backdrop the same color as used for the scenic base.

The same procedure of projecting slides was used for the entire backdrop.

The completed south end of Dickey.

With the backdrop finished, its time to get this train rolling, and start on some real scenery.
 A huge thank you to Don for his time and talent. Even if it will cost me some DCC installs. Thanks buddy!

Darel Leedy

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

The "Files" Section | 1 Comments - Click Here :


    Darel Leedy - As a reminder, be sure to check out the "Files" tab under the main header. Many a wonderful high resolution document have been posted here. A big thank you to all who have shared their information! If you have something you'd like to share, send me an email by clicking on the Moderator's profile, and I will provide the necessary procedure.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Friday, July 17, 2015

Overland Passenger Car Modifications - Part 3 | 1 Comments - Click Here :

Equalizer Bars:

Keith Hayes - While the PBL trucks result in a free-rolling passenger car, the C&S truck sideframe has a continuous piece of steel that extends from brake beam to brake beam under the lower equalizer beam. This gives the C&S cars a delicate look that the D&RGW trucks lack. Both railroads used a Master Car Builders (MCB) design, which was widely used under wood passenger cars in the 19th and early 20th centuries.


So I picked up some 1/64 x 1/16 K&S bar at Caboose  (it was the smallest they had--I got lucky as it is just right).


Cut four pieces about 7/8" long, and clean the ends up with a file. Bend one end up a bit to match the equalizer bar. Then place the brass piece on the truck and scribe a line at the opposite end where the equalizer bar turns up.

This is the bend point at the opposite end. Be sure to bend the bar perpendicular to the length. Cut the bar to match the opposite end. File the cut face flat and parallel with the bottom portion to provide a larger gluing surface. Don’t add too much bend, the bar should be just below the lower portion of the sideframe.


Measure three times and do as much test fitting as you can stand. This bar fits between the two inboard bolts holding the journal boxes in place.  There is a great image of a truck on Hayes Hendricks' C&S passenger car sit under car 70.


Mix some epoxy and place a small dab inside the cast in bolt. Then place the bar flush with the outside face of the casting and wait to dry.


Don't get too carried away with the bend or you will have a truck that looks more like a pickup for third rail power.


Got a mail car model—you can use the same PBL trucks with some modifications. The PBL trucks model a composite wood and steel MCB truck. In the early 20th century, several companies offered an all-steel version of the truck with the brake shoes suspended inside, rather that at the end beams. You can approximate the steel trucks by removing the brake beams from the PBL truck and shaving off the two pairs of bolts in te top beam of the side frame. Also, remove the hanging links between the coil springs and the spring plank. If you really strive for a closer match, use CA to glue a small piece of styrene along the bottom edge of the lower equalizer to simulate the flange on the cast part.

Thanks to Chris Walker for providing the prototype examples from the DPL Western History Collection.


Keith Hayes
Modeling Leadville in Sn3


Monday, July 13, 2015

Overland Passenger Car Modifications - Part 2 | 0 Comments - Click Here :


Trucks: 

    Keith Hayes - Once in a while I must bow and listen to Derrell say, "I told you so!" Today is the day.

    I bought an Overland passenger car a few years back and sent it to 7th Street for a paint job. The 7th Street Super suggested I trade out the troublesome brass trucks with some from PBL. I said no, and the car came out of the shop looking good, but with finicky brass trucks and brake shoes that like to short out on the metal wheelsets..

    With all the talk of sound cars, passenger cars are a great candidate too. But, you have to get power to the car. PBL trucks have this figured out. Jim suggested I take the dive, and I got some trucks from PBL.


    Checking the height, and the PBL trucks are a very close match. The issue is the outside bearing equalizer casting, which the C&S car lacks. PBL seems to have anticipated this issue. The equalizer screws to the frame and secures the wipers. Sweet!


    Remove the screws and flip the casting over. Even better there are centering ribs to mark where to saw the casting.


Saw at the end of the ribs, file down the top some,  and clean up the works.


Screw the truck back together, and install the bolster screw, also a perfect fit!

    This is a great project that took less than 15 minutes and greatly improved the rolling quality of this car. I still need to add a brass strip under the lower equalizer bar on each side to more closely replicate the C&S truck, and they need to go to the paint shop for a coat of black paint. But, the car is now ready for a Sound Car install. Thanks Derrell and Jim!

Keith Hayes
Modeling Leadville in Sn3