Re: Busiest DRGW main line?

hank Wrote:
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> drgw0579 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > A conversation today resulted in a question for
> > the narrow gauge experts:
> >
> > "Where was the busiest main line on the Rio
> Grande
> > narrow gaurge, fort any time period?" You
> could
> > even expand that to "Busiest Colorado narrow
> > gauge".
> >
> My WAG: probably on of the lines to a Boom Town,
> while the boom lasted. For example: DSP&P 1878-80,
> F&CC 1894-96, D&RG Creede Branch 1890-92. CC late
> 1870's, RGS 1890-92 and so forth.
>
> Hank

The original narrow gauge main line through the royal gorge must have been very busy during the mid-1880's. It was not only handling the considerable traffic coming out of Leadville but also the traffic using the route to or from Salt Lake City and everything in-between. Pretty well everything carried by the D&RG had to go through there except traffic on the southern portion of the system. The high traffic probably explains why this route was among the first to be changed to dual gauge from 1887 on, but it was solely narrow gauge for a number of years beforehand.