Re: Alpine Tunnel, St. Elmo & Romley turntables

Hi Rick, good discussion. I guess I don't have as much faith in the 1893 receivers inventory that you do, for a few reasons:

1. The Employee TTs for 1889 and 1897 don't list an Alpine Tunnel turntable, so it seems strange that one would pop up in between these dates

2. If one was installed by 1893, why would it have been removed or made non-operational by 1897

3. If there were two turntables simultaneously, at St. Elmo & Alpine Tunnel, where did the second one come from

4. Operationally, someone has said that the extra braking power of helper locos coming down from the tunnel would have been welcome through to St. Elmo - so running that far to turn wasn't an issue

5. Lastly, a receiver's inventory was probably done in a lawyers office in Denver, or even far away Omaha. I've been around lawyer's offices before (always on the right side of the law of course ), and such appendices are usually assigned to the lowliest clerk. On the other hand, documents like the 1886 B&B inventory (where the dimensions of each building's rooms are recorded to the nearest half inch), and documents like Employee TTs (used daily by all engine and train crews), were prepared and used by the boots on the ground.


PS about the Romley turntable. I'm again at the mercy of Mac Poor here, but he is more way more specific on pg 431 of the DSP&P book, than just saying the Romley turntable was moved from Gunnison in 1915. His exact quote says:

"In the Colorado & Southern files we read: 'A turntable was installed at Romley between August 1st and 18th, 1915. The cost was $1,161.00. This turntable came from Gunnison where it was built in 1888, later overhauled in 1908. It was a fifty-foot lattice girder turntable. The cost new was $1,830.00 It was valued at $150.00 when removed to Romley. The freight via Salida over the D&RG cost $141.00'

Now I don't know what the specific "Colorado & Southern files" are, they're probably explained elsewhere in his huge volume, but the above quote is so specific that I would take it to be correct.

So anyway, as degg13 and I have chatted, all this fun in the interest of figuring stuff out. I'll eagerly await more information as it may be found in archives, that may shed a definitive light on all angles.

Cheers,
Ralph