Month: July 2020

A pair of Little Joes and two EMD diesels with a mile of freight tied to their tail reach to top of Pipestone Pass.   The train is about to enter the tunnel under U.S. Highway 10 and the Continental Divide at Donald, Montana.  Then it is all downhill, rather steeply to Butte, and river level down the Clarks Fork through Missoula to St. Regis.  There the train will once again strain to attain the top of the Bitterroots.

Railroads in assembling long freights normally lash up multiple units to provide the power necessary to make the haul.  But the Milwaukee Road was not normal.  They lashed up multiple electrics along with multiple diesels, all operated by a single engineer.   A special throttle device was used connecting the two differing systems, called the Wylie Controller, named for the inventor. 

The Milwaukee Road crossed five major mountain ranges in their route to the coast, the Belts and Tobacco Roots (part of the Rockies) in Montana, the Bitterroots entering Idaho, and the Saddles and Cascades in Washington.   Those tough grades were the justification for electrification. Unlike steam and diesel, electrics were impervious to high altitude and extremely cold temperatures. Under such harsh conditions, reciprocating engines loose horsepower.

On relatively level ground the electrics do all the work, while the diesel units were allowed to idle. At the foot of the next grade the diesels were powered up, adding to the mix.

This is one of my all-time favorite pictures, from the lens of noted photographer Steve Patterson.  Nicely framed, it graces the wall in my office, I see it as I type this. Long-time readers, saw this picture and story over ten years ago.    Gary O. Ostlund

In wandering around the Antonito yard before departure, I was taken by this sampling of dual gauge track.  This picture clearly shows three rails leading to a string of boxcars in the distance.  The cars are narrow gauge.

In the heyday of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad there were several stretches of dual gauge.  Why dual gauge?   The D&RGW served all of Colorado from West of the I-25 corridor and on to Salt Lake City.   The severity of the mountain grades and curves in the Southwest quarter of the state made narrow gauge construction a necessity.

So, from Denver, Pueblo and Walsenburg west, to many points there was dual gauge track.  In the LaVeta Pass area narrow gauge track was laid.  Years later standard gauge was built on a nearby alignment.  This allowed standard gauge ladings to move directly to distribution centers at the base of the mountains in places such as Antonito, Leadville, Montrose, and Salida.   This also let the narrow-gauge cars to haul minerals, coal, limestone and other products directly to markets. 

Standard gauge to this day reaches Antonito, however, there is no exchange of traffic.  The narrow gauge Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is strictly for the tourists.  And what a ride it was.  Gary O. Ostlund