Re: Coal & Coke WestBound to Farmington . . .
| January 30, 2023 08:28PM |
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John West Wrote:
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> . . . I was somewhat surprised to find tractors
> still being shipped over the ng. in 1961 . . .
> [attachment 87385 DRGWant3WFA1105.jpg]
>
> I would have guessed relatively high value stuff
> like that would have shifted to truck before then..
> I suspect there are other surprises like that if
> we can find a source of commodity info. I never
> would have expected bulk coke to be shipped
> to Farmington in the 1960's.
Another excellent discussion, John -
In the 'Olden Days' the vast majority of stuff for everyday life came into small towns by rail, especially during the winter when almost no food could be produced locally except maybe some meat from hunting game, and a shortage of coal for heating homes could become a serious problem if a blizzard blocked the rails for a week or more. OTOH, I vaguely remember reading that Tiffany and Allison once shipped large numbers of Turkeys to the outside world — most likely to Denver.
Also, there were some merchants in Durango who supported the narrow gauge to the bitter end. The tractor dealer responsible for one of my all-time favorite photos – the "Deere John" shot you posted above – was probably one of them; IIRC the Coca-Cola bottler had all his bulk supplies, including the bottles, shipped by rail well into the 1960s. And don't forget the famous incident of the Farmington lumber dealer refusing a shipment of wallboard that came in by truck and had it hauled back to Alamosa where it became part of the very last revenue freight on the D&RGW narrow gauge at the end of August, 1968.
- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender
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> . . . I was somewhat surprised to find tractors
> still being shipped over the ng. in 1961 . . .
> [attachment 87385 DRGWant3WFA1105.jpg]
>
> I would have guessed relatively high value stuff
> like that would have shifted to truck before then..
> I suspect there are other surprises like that if
> we can find a source of commodity info. I never
> would have expected bulk coke to be shipped
> to Farmington in the 1960's.
Another excellent discussion, John -
In the 'Olden Days' the vast majority of stuff for everyday life came into small towns by rail, especially during the winter when almost no food could be produced locally except maybe some meat from hunting game, and a shortage of coal for heating homes could become a serious problem if a blizzard blocked the rails for a week or more. OTOH, I vaguely remember reading that Tiffany and Allison once shipped large numbers of Turkeys to the outside world — most likely to Denver.
Also, there were some merchants in Durango who supported the narrow gauge to the bitter end. The tractor dealer responsible for one of my all-time favorite photos – the "Deere John" shot you posted above – was probably one of them; IIRC the Coca-Cola bottler had all his bulk supplies, including the bottles, shipped by rail well into the 1960s. And don't forget the famous incident of the Farmington lumber dealer refusing a shipment of wallboard that came in by truck and had it hauled back to Alamosa where it became part of the very last revenue freight on the D&RGW narrow gauge at the end of August, 1968.
- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.