Gunnison Division Train Moves - RGS Trainsheets

Sometime back in a comment to Jimmy Blouch’s posting of Alamosa trainsheets someone inquired whether trainsheets were available for the RGS.

While I do not have any RGS trainsheets, I have a number of “X 30”’s , Report of Movement of All Fast Freight Trains to the 24 Hours Ending 11:59P.M. executed at Gunnison in October 1924. (The RGS was in the Gunnison Division Employee’s Timetable 103 at this time.) On the narrow gauge fast freight was oil and stock. “X 30”’s give origin / termination by terminal, loads – empties - tons, engines, and most interesting, the delays. Not all the “X 30”’s have RGS movements, but many do.

Shippers requested the number of stock cars, loading date, location and the stock to be loaded (sheep, cattle, horses, mules). From this a plan was developed and published for employees. The fall of 1924 saw approximately 100 trains from September through December, with almost half operating in October. Each of these trains were noted as Exa, for extra, G##, such as G17. The numbers were sequentially assigned. Why ‘G’ for stock moves, a good question.

Oil trains were entered as Exa, Oil## date, where ## is a number and appears to be the number of the train in sequence.

On the RGS, traffic originating at Dolores and west went to Durango, while traffic originating at Rico and east went to Ridgeway, Montose, Gunnison, Salida, etc.

Subject of subsequent postings will be Gunnison Division “X 30” date.

Data presented will be that form the “X 30” except dittos, “, will be filled in; discrepancies will be replicated. One thing that can’t be reproduced is some of the unique penmanship.

Enjoy.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/2010 12:42PM by STUDENT.