While modeling is fun, I find that researching the prototype and learning more about what I'm modeling to be very rewarding. The Bard Creek Railroad will not be modeling anything specific like towns or even the route itself, rather the Bard Creek will be giving the impression of Rocky Mountain narrow gauge railroads.
The area I've isolated is the famous Clear Creek. The Colorado Central, later the Colorado Southern, and finally the Burlington route which bought the C&S went up Clear Creek west of Golden, CO to access the mines in the valley. Gold, Silver, and Coal were all mined in the area, while I hope to reproduce on my railroad at some point. The Route went up the hill from Golden following Clear Creek. About midway, the line splits. The North route followed the North Fork of Clear Creek to Blackhawk, Central City, and Nevada. The Colorado Central connected to the 2 foot gauge Gilpin Tram at Black Hawk.
The Southern route followed the main fork of Clear Creek to Idaho Springs, and then later to Georgetown, and Silver Plume. The route was originally going to be a connecting route over the Great Divide through Berthound Pass just North of Empire. However, plans changed later on and the route instead went through the Moffat Tunnel in a valley north of Clear Creek.
The Clear Creek route had a steady decline from about 1927 before the Southern Route from Silver Plume to Idaho Springs was abandoned in 1939. Finally, the whole route was abandoned on May 4, 1941, a full 7 months before Pearl Harbor would bring the nation into World War II. The iron within the rails pulled up would be used for the war effort both at home and on the front.
However, well after the second Great War, preservation Societies began working to rebuild a portion of the line, and currently the Georgetown Loop is operating as a tourist railroad, just as the C&S was doing ot make money as the mines closed through the 20's and 30's.
How do I know this? One simple word which is not used enough, research!
Researching the prototype has helped me find out more about what I'm modeling and how my fictional line could have fit in with the much broader picture. The Internet is a great resource, but it is still new enough that many pieces of information, particularly photographs, lithographs and maps are not online. The best approach to research still is the age old method of publications.
While the Colorado Central and the Colorado Southern are eclipsed by the legendary and romantic Durango and Silverton, information is still there, particularly about Clear Creek. Below is a list of resources I have found very helpful:
The area I've isolated is the famous Clear Creek. The Colorado Central, later the Colorado Southern, and finally the Burlington route which bought the C&S went up Clear Creek west of Golden, CO to access the mines in the valley. Gold, Silver, and Coal were all mined in the area, while I hope to reproduce on my railroad at some point. The Route went up the hill from Golden following Clear Creek. About midway, the line splits. The North route followed the North Fork of Clear Creek to Blackhawk, Central City, and Nevada. The Colorado Central connected to the 2 foot gauge Gilpin Tram at Black Hawk.
The Southern route followed the main fork of Clear Creek to Idaho Springs, and then later to Georgetown, and Silver Plume. The route was originally going to be a connecting route over the Great Divide through Berthound Pass just North of Empire. However, plans changed later on and the route instead went through the Moffat Tunnel in a valley north of Clear Creek.
The Clear Creek route had a steady decline from about 1927 before the Southern Route from Silver Plume to Idaho Springs was abandoned in 1939. Finally, the whole route was abandoned on May 4, 1941, a full 7 months before Pearl Harbor would bring the nation into World War II. The iron within the rails pulled up would be used for the war effort both at home and on the front.
However, well after the second Great War, preservation Societies began working to rebuild a portion of the line, and currently the Georgetown Loop is operating as a tourist railroad, just as the C&S was doing ot make money as the mines closed through the 20's and 30's.
How do I know this? One simple word which is not used enough, research!
Researching the prototype has helped me find out more about what I'm modeling and how my fictional line could have fit in with the much broader picture. The Internet is a great resource, but it is still new enough that many pieces of information, particularly photographs, lithographs and maps are not online. The best approach to research still is the age old method of publications.
While the Colorado Central and the Colorado Southern are eclipsed by the legendary and romantic Durango and Silverton, information is still there, particularly about Clear Creek. Below is a list of resources I have found very helpful:
- My best information so far has come from the issue number 10 of the Colorado Rail Annual. The title is "Narrow Gauge to Central and Silver Plume: Route of the famed Georgetown Loop." The publication tells the complete story of the line from birth to death including many old photographs, maps, timetables, lithographs, and drawings which visualize the writings.
- My number two best friend is "Rivers of the Rockies." Why? Because this book shows Colorado in color in all seasons. Plus since my railroad is following a creek, the many pictures help me visualize what the scene will be.
- Third on my list are old copies of the Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette. While new publications of this magazine are also helpful, older issues from about 1995 back show many Colorado narrow gauge trains including Colorado Southern. The Gazette comes complete with many drawings and elevations of rolling stock and locomotives. Since I plan to kitbash and scratchbuild, these reference drawings are very helpful.
- Now comes the Internet. Particularly, Google Maps. This portion of Google shows the globe through the eyes of satellites. Old Roadbeds, and many geographical features can be seen in detail. Plus it is cheaper than a plane ticket (Google Maps is free). The other program, Google Earth, is also very helpful, being able to see the landscape in 3D.
- If I can't get to the prototype in the season I want, a great site is called traildamage.com While many roadbeds no longer have rails, many more have been turned into pathways for bikes, hikers and horseback riders. Bard Creek is an actual Creek in Colorado, being a small tributary of Clear Creek. There are many trails in the valley Bard Creek is located in, and so people on Trail Damage have taken pictures and written reports on the trails, particularly the ATV and off road vehicle trail which goes by an old mine and climbs up the side of the mountain to the top.
- The Internet itself is my best friend, but only ranks sixth on my list because particular websites and publications are far more helpful than the young Internet is. However, a lot of Information exists which is helpful to my research, and so the Internet at least gets acknowledgments.
So those are my biggest resources so far. Through this, I'm building a small library of materials related to Clear Creek and the Colorado Central as well as the Colorado Southern.
--James
No comments:
Post a Comment