Re: A Poncha Pass time machine (sort of)

CharlieMcCandless Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Monarch pass-Poncha Pass excursion would
> have been an excellent trip. Time machine please!


Right you are, Charlie -

But the tracks to Monarch* & Villa Grove are long gone. The May 21, 1950 charter was the inspiration for the May 25, 2010 Sixtieth Anniversary commemorative charter on the C&TS.  Not exactly a time machine, as it was a Phraud-O-Phreight - not a passenger train - and the Silver Vista wasn't available.  But engine #489 was again wearing a (somewhat brighter) Olive Green jacket for the occasion.  A few of John West's photos of the event are available on his website at [chasingtrains.smugmug.com], and a search of 'Springtime in the Rockies' will find several pages of links to relevant posts here on the NGDF.

Here's a 2010 photo I stole from Roosso, cropped and cleaned up considerably, that has roughly the same feel as the south side of Poncha Pass:


- Willie

* IIRC, the line west from Salida went - via a switchback or two - only to the limestone quarry at Monarch, and not over Monarch Pass.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/2017 01:36PM by Johnson Barr.