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  • Colorado & Southern switchback help

  • Pertaining to all railroad subjects, past and present, in the American West, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and The Dakotas. For specific railroad topics, please see the Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.
Pertaining to all railroad subjects, past and present, in the American West, including California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, and The Dakotas. For specific railroad topics, please see the Fallen Flags and Active Railroads categories.

Moderator: Komachi

 #1044646  by fp7fan
 
I am trying to figure out how the Colorado & Southern railroad navigated the 500 ft. or so altitude change between Black Hawk, CO and Central City, CO - I realize they used a switchback, but I haven't been able to find any old maps online that may show the route between these two towns. Does anybody have a link that will help me out?

thanks,
Todd
 #1044782  by CarterB
 
Not very 'close up' but shows the switchbacks:
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/col ... y-1903.jpg
Decent photos of switch back:
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/si ... 4534/rec/1
http://www.narrowgauge.org/ngc/html/exc ... khawk.html
Also Google Colorado Central Railroad, who built this line before being
taken over by the C & S
 #1046352  by fp7fan
 
Thanks for the replies to my inquiry, the links offered have been helpful. I spent some time up around Black Hawk recently to try to find some existing evidence of the railroads up there but didn't have much luck, I guess partly because of my lack of knowledge of the area but also because it seems a good amount of the canyon has been carved away to allow for construction of casinos.