Re: Vegetation question - Where Have All The Beavers Gone??

Hi Fritz, Christian et al -

IIRC, there was a time when Elk Park really was a "park" – in the high-valley open-space sense – with few of the willows on the east side of the track which interfered with taking an unobstructed photo the last time I participated in a run-by there (2004).  The narrow canyon and scarcity of "vista" photo ops – one of which has been ruined by the willows – are two big reasons that I seldom ride the Silverton Branch photo specials, and, IMHO if the D&SNG and the C&TS are going to continue to attract fans to their photo-freights, they are going to have to do some serious vegetation control in the very near future.

Some time ago, Roger Hogan and I discussed this problem, and the following photos & maps were prepared to assist the C&TS in sending herds of beavers, jackelopes and loggers to the most frequently photographed areas of the railroad.  The proposed crittur food and Eureka fuel has been tinted orange to emphasize its relatively recent encroachment on the right-of-way:



And here's a more recent view of the curve west of Big Horn:


Buried somewhere in my archives is a photo of #463 #497 at this location in 1996 that I need to track down and scan. IIRC, there were a lot fewer trees in the way ...

- Russo



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2019 10:44PM by Russo Loco.