Ok Mr. PRSL, I'll bite.
As I write this I am looking at an original Otto Perry postcard photo dated 1942. It shows the Santa Fe branch track ending in a pile of dirt a little ways outside of Antonito. The grade, now devoid of ties and rails, is visable running off into the distance. On the back, in Otto's handwriting it says "D&RGW end of track, Santa Fe branch. Recently torn up, last run 9-1-41. The general manager's dream came true now we can truck, I mean didge 'em."
Unless you think that Mr. Perry is part of some great conspiracy, then I think that this photo shows that the Cile Line ceased to exist south of Antonito sometime in 1942. That being the case, if the government continued to operate the line from Santa Fe to Espanola or some other point to serve Los Alamos until 1943, then how did the equipment used for this "secret railroad" get back to the D&RGW in Alamosa. Someone would have noticed it being loaded onto standard gauge flatcars and moved out of Santa Fe. Also, I think that there is plenty of photographic proof that all of the 470's taken by the Government made it to Alaska so don't even go there.
All of that aside, why does anyone think that it would be effcient for the government to "secretly" use the Chile line from Santa Fe to some unknown point to serve Los Alamos? If you have ever been to the area then you know that the Los Alamos site is hell and gone from anywhere on the Chile Line, so trucks would have had to have been used for the last part of the trip no matter what. Given that the line was gone just south of Alamosa by 1942, that means that materials for Los Alamos would have travelled to Santa Fe via the standard gauge AT&SF. At Santa Fe, they would have been transferred to narrow gauge cars for a 30 or so mile trip on the "secret narrow gauge" and then transferred again to trucks for the remainder of the journey to Los Alamos. Would it not be more effcient to just load the materials straight from the standard gauge cars into trucks and drive to Los Alamos rather than waste all of the time and effort the first put them into narrow gauge cars for a relativley short run? Exactly what would have been gained by going to all of teh effort required to maintain a 30 mile long disconnected segment of narrow gauge track and operate it as a "top secret" endevour?
No matter how you look at it, the whole idea of the "secret narrow gauge" makes no sense, not even for the US Government. Let this old wives tale die the hideous death it deserves.
Jason Midyette
By the way George, lets see if you can make your case by just presenting some facts with out isulting anyone. I bet you can't.
