The winner: Tim Sandsmark, Littleton
This is the narrow-gauge railroad display near Cimarron, Colo., on the road to an area below Morrow Point Dam and Crystal Lake in the Black Canyon portion of Curecanti National Recreation Area. This stretch of track and trestle was part of the famous “Scenic Line of the World” route of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad that went through a portion of the Black Canyon and then emerged from the canyon here and continued its journey westward. I was the project supervisor for the creation of the rolling stock display in Cimarron when I was an interpretive ranger for the National Park Service in the early ’80s. At the completion of the project, we had a big opening celebration with area dignitaries and the Western State Brass Ensemble – for which I was the tuba player – played period music. It was a wonderful conclusion to a great experience and project!
Just there: Terry Knudson, Montrose
It just so happens I was there fishing this past week. In 1949, much of the old line was torn up as the rail line went into decline. Most of the original rail tracks lie beneath the Blue Mesa and Morrow Point Reservoirs.
Can you hear the engine: Ted Krumreich, Denver
Engine No. 278 was built for the Denver & Rio Grande in 1882. Yes, that is me in the picture. Although I live in Denver, I work part-time as an engineman for the Strasburg Rail Road in Lancaster County, Pa. The locomotive in that picture, No. 90, came from the Great Western, also in Colorado. It is regularly operated in tourist service at the Strasburg.
