Daniel Maxwell Wrote:
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> I think thats because Ohio was a good example of
> the narrow gauge fever dying such a hard death.
> After 1900, there was scarcely any NG to speak of,
> save for the OR&W. The longer a narrow gauge
> lasts, the more people will want to talk about it.
> There were probably a hundred or more 'fever'
> narrow gauges across the US that barely operated a
> year or two before converting to standard gauge.
I've long wondered how many C&TS/D&Sng fans have much interest in the much larger D&RG of the earlier years...when there was over a thousand miles of NG trackage and a large variety of motive power/rollingstock. What survives is low hanging fruit and what is gone is frequently out of sight and out of mind.
I think the model railroader angle also comes into play. I've heard, repeatedly, of people modeling "freelance" D&RGWs primarily because that was what available. The same now applies to the common "such and such was abandoned and my layout is the 30" gauge revival" with a roster of B-man models. Similarly, I can recall a C&S modeler stating that he selected it because Harry Brunk had completed all his homework for him. Don't get me wrong, the B-man models are nice (I have a number of them)...the C&S is great (I've built a number of Grandt Line's C&S kits)...and the D&RGW does make a beautiful prototype. I do not intend to criticize these people.
The C&TS and D&S are both very much in sight and accessible (as are their models), and hence get lots of attention. They are sufficiently wonderful that it is difficult to realize that there are other comparably wonderful options could even exist. Of the dozens of books covering the D&RGW, relatively few have much content on the much larger ancestor...plus no color photos. And for every 100 photos of the D&RG, there is 1 of an Ohio NG. Had Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky focused on American NG roads instead of Russia, I bet there'd be more attention directed towards the pre-WW1 NG roads than towards the post-Depression/WW2. If you hobby is rail fanning (or the modeling equivalent), then these other roads are of little value to you. But, if your interest is in history or model building (different sides of the same coin), then they are every bit as rich...if not juicier for the challenge...than the common D&RGW/EBT.
Jeff, thank you especially for mentioning the Connotton Valley. I kept trying to think of its name in vain. An impressive road indeed.
Michael
