THE RAILHEAD
NEWSLETTER OF THE PIKES PEAK "N"GINEERS MODEL RAILROAD CLUB

November 2008 RAILROADING SINCE OCTOBER 13, 1989

Calendar of events 2008
November
Nov 3: Board Meeting – Maggie Mae's – dinner at 6:30 pm – meeting at 7:30 pm
Nov 1, 15 & 22: Saturday work session or run trains 9 to 11 am
Nov 4, 11, 18 & 25: Tuesday work sessions – 7 to 9 pm
Nov 7: Load MTL around noon and head to Denver for setup
Nov 8 & 9: GTE show in Denver – 9 am to 4 pm both days
Nov 14 & 28: Friday work session – 7 to 9 pm
Nov 28: Setup for club show after 5 pm
Nov 29: Club train show & swap meet – show time 10 am to 4 pm – then tear down & clean up.
December
Dec 1: Board Meeting – Maggie Mae's – dinner at 6:30 pm – meeting at 7:30 pm
Dec 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30: Tuesday work sessions – 7 to 9 pm
Dec 5, 12, 26: Friday work session – 7 to 9 pm
Dec 6, 13, 20 & 27: Saturday work session or run trains 9 to 11 am
Dec 19: Corporate Meeting & Election of Officers
Future Events
January 10: TECO Show
February 21 & 22: GTE Show
March 21 & 22: Boot Hill Club Show in Garden City, KS

Club Anniversary Party
The nineteenth club anniversary party got started around 4 pm. Members and spouses who attended were the Carillos, Bays, Duekers, Woosleys, Pecks and Lester. Chris was the only one to bring trains so he had the whole layout to himself. After dinner we sat down and watched "The Titfield Thunderbolt" a British comedy about a town who saved their little railroad from closing. We ate well and had a nice visit with everyone and enjoyed the movie.
The gang at the dinner table another shot of everyone at the dinner table

GTE Show
We will load the MTL at noon on Friday November 7 and then grab a bite to eat and head to Denver to setup. The hours for the show are 10 am to 4 pm both Saturday & Sunday. If you are participating in this event show up around 9 am to clean track and get setup.

Club Show
We'll load the MTL on Friday night around 6 and head to the DAV to setup. This year we will have the Pikes Peak & Southern Model Railroad club with us so we will be taking down all the tables except for those for the vendors.

November Nominations
At the November business meeting we will be making nominations for club officers for 2009. If you would like to run for office please let a board member know so you can be nominated from the floor.

DSP&P part III


We did find out that the grade from South Platte to Chatfield is still there. It is closed off to motor vehicle traffic so it's a hiking trail. Next time I go I'm going to wear long pants so I can go through the undergrowth without cutting up my legs. I'm also going to have the settings on my camera set to the correct exposure, hence the blue-green color of the photos.

Bridge abutment, not sure if it is railroad Old ruins we saw, don't think from era of RR
We were on our way to Buffalo Creek and the above structures were along the way. We saw another grade on the other side of the North Platte River and followed it until we saw the above abutment. Due to several bushes on the other side it was hard to determine the alignment to enter the bridge from the other side. This could have been a highway bridge as well. We'll do some more research on this. As we entered Buffalo Creek the following two buildings greeted us.

The J W Green building 1898 The DSP&P freight house

As luck would have it a gentleman who has studied the South Park was there and told us that there was no depot at this location, just the freight house. Just behind the freight house, about where the far distant telephone pole is, there used to be a switch. The railroad would drop off supplies and materials for the Cheesman dam project to the south. He also told us that the road crossed the North Platte River just out of the community and then swung back and crossed it again. The following pictures show these crossings.
He also told me that the Rio Grande had done a lot of grading just out of Chatfield and were working their way up the same canyon as the DSP&P but at a higher elevation. The Denver water board was able
to put a stop to this project. DSP&P was already in operation so the water board could not stop them. The Rio Grande had picked this route originally to go to Buena Vista instead of the Royal Gorge route. This is something else to study up on, and maybe do some more exploring downstream from South Platte to Chatfield.
Abutments just out of Buffalo Creek Grade and abutments at other location
We are now on our way to Pine. The grade is to the left of the road just out of sight. When we stopped and walked across the road we could look down onto the old grade.
The grade is the same as the vehicle path, this helps keep the grade preserved
Entering Pine now Pine Grove Caboose is standard gage CBAQ 14359
It was surprising to see the caboose on the side of the road on private property. Guessing a railroad nut?
From Pine Grove the grade follows the river and the highway doesn't. We looked for the trailhead marker for the grade but did not see it from the main road so will have to go back and explore some more. From here we had to make a loop around to get back to Estabrook. It rained the whole time during this part of the journey and cooled the temperature down a bit. This is the end of part 3, watch for part 4 in the next Railhead.
Club Jackets & Shirts
The club has decided to have the jackets and shirts embroidered instead of screened. The advantage of this is we will not have to pay the additional setup fee for jackets and shirts in the future. The shirts will remain maroon and will have a pocket the logo will be embroidered just above the pocket. The jackets will be navy blue and embroidered same as the shirts. For those of you wishing to purchase a jacket or upgrade your shirts there is a signup sheet for each down at the club or E-mail Mike with your request for a jacket or shirt or both. Let him know how many of each you want and what size. If you're not sure what size you wear Mike has a sizing diagram. Before any jacket is embroidered you have to try the jackets on to make sure they fit. For a rough estimate of cost the jackets are around $75 ea and the shirts will be around $20. We will receive a small discount if we have a combined order or 12 or more. Once we have the quantities we will have a better idea on price. The club will also be asking for payment in advance of ordering the jackets and shirts.

Anderson Power Poles are also for sale at the club at a $1 a set.