Hello!
Today I'm here to present a KML Map I've been made that displays the three narrow gauge mining railroads that once ran north of Silverton, Colorado.
This Link will take you over to view the map online, or if you prefer, you can get my KMZ download
Here for use with the Google Earth Desktop Client. (last updated January 2024)
Keep in mind I'll occasionally hop on there and make some corrections or add new info, checking the online viewer and any new posts on this thread written by me is the best way to stay up to date with any changes.
A Brief History:
Silverton Railroads??? You mean the D&S?
For those who are unaware: There was an immense amount of untapped mineral traffic in need of railroad service that was located further north of the D&RG's Silverton Branch built in 1882. A few surveys by D&RG surveyor
Thomas Wigglesworth had been done up Mineral Creek, but it was only local Toll Road builder and Russian immigrant
Otto Mears, along with his associate
Charles Gibbs and many others who actually took on the challenge of bringing railroad service to the Red Mountain Mining District via the
Silverton Railroad, built from 1887-1889 to haul the great amounts of Silver traffic out of the area down to Silverton and beyond.
Later on, Mears would establish the
Silverton Northern Railroad from their original intentions to extend the Silverton RR to the towns of Howardsville and Eureka. As a result of The Silver Panic of 1893, Mears lost ownership of his Rio Grande Southern railroad, and it additionally prevented them from building the
Ouray-Ironton Electric Railway, a proposed 3 ft gauge electric cog railroad from the furthest north point on the SRR in Ironton, down through the extremely rugged Uncompahgre Gorge to the town of Ouray where the D&RG had reached by 1887. By then mines in the Red Mountain District were closing rapidly due to the Silver Panic, so the SNRR was established to ensure its intentions wouldn't get carried down with the SRR should it come to an end. The SNRR would later be extended to the town of Animas Forks by 1904 using recycled rails and other materials from the retired section of the SRR from Corkscrew Gulch to Ironton.
The third and final railroad known as the
Silverton, Gladstone, & Northerly Railroad was established by shareholders of the Gold King Mine, and would be constructed in 1899, intended to service the Gold King mine and mill, as well as the other mines up Cement Creek.
Mears and his other associates tried their hardest to keep the Silverton Railroad running and show support for the remaining mines they serviced by starting the alternative "Durango Standard Smelter" and highly supporting and promoting different Colorado political parties who wanted to fight against lower Silver Prices, however none of those solutions ended up working out one way or another and the 1904 since reorganized
Silverton Railway was properly abandoned in 1926.
The SN would merge with the SG&N in 1915 and become the Gladstone Branch, and both managed to survive up until World War II, when mines had gone idle and the US Army purchased almost all their remaining rolling stock and motive power for use on the White Pass & Yukon Route.
Map Features/Navigation:
The map features multiple different layers depicting various routes and points of interest. Using the online viewer these can be found on the menu side bar to the left, where you can find the map description/key and enable or disable said layers.
The first layer you will see is the "D&RGW Silverton Layer" This layer contains all Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad related objects and is enabled by default.
Next, you will see the "Silverton Railroads Layer". This layer contains all objects related to the Silverton Railroad, The Silverton Gladstone and Northerly Railroad, and the Silverton Northern Railroad. You can also click on objects/lines to see a description of what they are or if there's any other relevant info worth mentioning.
Additionally, after that is the "D&RGW to Durango Layer", which includes pretty much everything railroad related south from Needleton to the outskirts of Durango prior to 1968. Including various details on the Silverton Branch like Tefft and the original layout of the D&RGW Durango yard. These layers are relevant to the Silverton Railroad's histories because of
John Porters involvement with moving the San Juan Smelter to Durango and starting many Different coal mines in the Durango area to fuel the smelter and mines in the Red Mountain Mining District, and interchange with all said railroads.
The next four layers are disabled by default but can easily be enabled to view. These are the "Proposed Routes Layer", "Post-1950 D&RGW/D&SNG Silverton Layer", "Post-1968 D&RGW/D&SNG to Durango Layer", and the "Silverton Preservation Layer". The "Silverton Preservation Layer" shows objects related to the Durango Railroad Historical Society like the railcar display track, and San Juan County Historical Society related objects like the rebuilt SN track north of Silverton.
The "Proposed Routes Layer" as the name suggests, displays proposed trackage that was never built.
This includes:
1. The Ouray-Ironton Electric Railway, spanning from Ironton on the SRR to the town of Ouray where it would've tied into the D&RG's Ouray Branch.
2. The SN's proposed extension to the Frisco Tunnel above the town of Animas Forks, and separate but additional proposal up to the townsite of Mineral Point.
3. A proposed route for the SRR up Cataract Gulch
4. The proposed 6 Stall Silverton Roundhouse for the SN and SRR at the corner of 6th and Cement Street.
The "Post-1950 D&RGW/D&SNG Silverton Layer" shows changes the D&RGW made to their Silverton trackage, as well as any changes the D&SNG has made since. The same goes for the "Post-1968 D&RGW/D&SNG to Durango Layer" where changes the D&RGW made to the Durango Yard and the rest of the Silverton Branch are depicted.
Credits and Sources Used:
The Rainbow Route - An Illustrated History by Carl A. Skowronski and Robert Evan Sloan
Silver San Juan - The Rio Grande Southern by Mallory Hope Ferrell
Three Little Lines - by Josie Moore Crum
D&RG 1919 Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) Valuation Maps - Colorado Railroad Museum Republication
Preliminary Location of the Ouray-Ironton Electric Railway 1892 - Provided by Fritz Klinke
Map of the Silverton Railroads and Proposed Extensions - Colorado Railroad Museum Republication
Colorado Rail Annual No. 11 - Train Time in Ouray by Gordon Chappel, Published by the Colorado Railroad Museum
Pioneers, Prospectors and Trout, A Historic Context For La Plata County, Colorado - by Jill Seyfarth and Ruth Lambert: [
www.co.laplata.co.us]
Various suggestions/corrections as well as resources provided by the kind folks here on the NGDF, As well as outstanding individuals such as Fritz Klinke, Jerry Hoffer, Duane Danielson, Justin Kerns, Brock Jones, Daniel Frauenhoff, Ethan Stone, Earl Knoob, and user Rainbowroute.
Please don't hesitate to leave suggestions and feedback here on this thread or in my PMs/email if you prefer. I'm always looking for feedback of any kind to help improve this map. Thanks for your support and the best of luck to everyone out there interested in our rich railroad history here in Southwestern Colorado!
Joe Weigman
from the D&RG City Mine spur
Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 01/26/2024 10:36PM by Joe Weigman.
