We
spent the night in the RV Corral on the main street of
Leadville. Not surprisingly, at 10,400 feet it got quite
cold at night. We decided that we wanted to take the train
tour in Leadville so we bought tickets and got aboard.
The photos below are what we saw.
This
engine is non-operational, but was still interesting.
The sign
was attached to the tender.
The
domes on the top are the steam generators. On the top
right is a steam dynamo used to generate electricity and bottom
center is the steam-powered air compressor.
Eight
driving wheels.
No. 1918
will be our ride for the day. This motor is a GP-7.
On the
run out of Leadville, we passed the old hospital that has been
converted to a boarding house.
The
route will take us along the mountainside with no place to turn
around, so the train was pushed up the hill caboose first.
The
railroad line also had a limited number of freight cars and a
side snow plow.
The
track crew uses this rig to access the rails. Note that
the rails fit between the duals on the rear. The front
wheels are suspended by the hydraulic railroad wheel assembly.
When the
original line was going to be de-commissioned, it was purchased
by a local for the whopping sum of $10 which was the whole deal
including rails, ties, 2 locomotives, the track right-of-way and
a bunch of spares and yard equipment. The seller was
willing to do the deal because it is very expensive to
de-commision an active rail line as it requires removal of rails
and ties. It was cheaper to give it away.
The trip
had several kinds of cars including an open-topped car.
The
aspen trees were just starting to turn color. We could see
a grove on the other side of the canyon that was starting to
turn yellow. Note the avalanche run in the canyon to the
left of the yellow grove.
To the
southwest we could see tall ranges with snow fields remaining
from the previous winter.
On the
opposite side of the canyon was a tall peak with exposed cliffs.
One
sharp turn on the track allowed seeing the entire train.
The
state highway is in the bottom of the canyon.
This
stand of aspen will look great in about 10 days.
An
avalanche run was visible on the far canyon wall.
There
were plenty of peaks that were well above timber line.
Near the
end of the rails we came upon a set of zip lines above the
tracks.
The ride stopped by this old water tower. Folks were encouraged to get off the train and walk about.
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Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2017 all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.