Tim,
Did I remember it correctly that his track was basically an oval loop or was there more to it than that? There was a trestle on the curve in front of the roundhouse as I recall. Was that because the ground was lower in that area or did the track climb a grade to get onto the bridge, then drop back down to ground level? I don't remember it being anything other than flat land.
I'd love to know more of the history of how he built his equipment. I bet he probably got some castings from Bill Daney in Pueblo who was a pioneer in 15" gauge. I believe Ralph's track and equipment was built to 14-1/8" gauge which is exactly 1/4 of 56-1/2" standard gauge. If someone bought this engine that already had some rolling stock, it would make sense to me to regauge it to 14" even instead of trying to widen in to 15". There's probably not much room to spare between the drivers and the crossheads/rods. If you have any more photos, I would certainly love to see them.
We nearly moved to CO just prior to the time I think Ralph packed everything up. Had it actually happened at that time, my mom was looking seriously at moving us to Boulder from Ohio. I can still remember my excitement when we took our vacation to CO that summer hoping and praying that we would move there. I think it was around 82 or 83. I probably would have had a chance to get to know him if we had moved out there.
Did you ever get to see the 18" NG 2-6-2 that ran up at Devil's Gulch in the Poudre River Canyon just east of Estes Park? We stumbled across it one summer, I think in 85 or 86. It was scratchbuilt by a gentleman in the Ft. Collins area. It's now in South Carolina I believe.
Sincerely,
Rob Gardner