The Creede Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad!

Описание: There are many branches of the old Denver & Rio Grande Western in Colorado that are worth exploring. On our recent Big Boy trip to Wyoming, we were traveling between the Sand Dunes National Park and Vallecito. From Alamosa until we turned southwest at South Fork, we were following the old Creede Branch of the D&RGW.
The oldest predecessor of the line was the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, chartered in 1870 with ambitions to link Denver and Mexico City. Tracks from Walsenburg reached Alamosa in 1878 and ultimately reached a southern terminus at Santa Fe, New Mexico on the narrow gauge Chili Line.
The branch was built west from Alamosa to Creede to service the silver mining boom. In 1908 the Denver & Rio Grande consolidated with another line to form the Denver & Rio Grande Western, which existed independently until 1988 when it merged with the Southern Pacific railroad, which was merged with the Union Pacific Railroad in 1996. In 2003 Union Pacific divested itself of the line by sale which led through several ownership companies to Bankruptcy Court in 2019.
The 22.8-mile long track from South Fork to Creede originated significant rail traffic from the railroad’s nearby gold and silver mining operations. Although the complete rail line dates to 1891, the conversion of the branch from narrow to standard gauge occurred in 1902.
The branch line survives as a virtually intact example of early 20th century railroad construction. It retains its 1902 alignment, railbed and jointed rail with ties, as well as the contemporary bridges, two depots, water tank in South Fork, and related track-side setting.
The 1881 tank provided water for countless steam locomotives until the end of steam locomotive operations in 1956. Tanks of identical design, materials and construction were built throughout the D&RG system in the last two decades of the 19th century.
Driving along Highway 160, we were surprised to see CXRG 303, an SD70MAC pulling a string of hopper cars toward South Fork, Colorado.
The line was purchased in February of 2023 by the Soloviev Group to preserve and improve rail service to the San Luis Valley, by updating locomotives, track restoration and railroad expansion. It operates as Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad (CXRG).
Stefan Soloviev was born in New York and is one of the largest land owners in the United States with over 400,000 acres. Soloviev's major achievements include successfully cultivating grains in historically dry farming regions using drought-tolerant seeds and emerging agriculture.
The Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad (CXRG) runs from Walsenburg, CO westward over the La Veta Pass through Alamosa, CO to South Fork, CO, and with a branch extending south from Alamosa, CO to Antonito, CO.

https://cxrgrr.com/about/