Steam & Excursion > American train in "Around the World in 80 Days"

I've never seen the movie but for a buck I got a book, "Michael Todd's AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS Almanac."
Here's an excerpt from the text, which is largely written in press-agent-speak:
"If you're Todd, you are going first cabin and nothing is too minor for your personal attention, nothing too costly or too difficult to secure".....
... "You want a real museum piece, a train that ran from San Francisco to Colorado in 1871.  You find it, diamond-stack engine and all, reposing in its place of honor in Brookside Park in Durango.  Its owners refuse to lend it, but after weeks of persuasion, Todd variety, plus a million-dollar bond that it will be returned in one piece, you get it on the road."

The locomotive in question was D&RGW #315 that was on static display in Brookside Park in Durango, CO.  It was removed from display, lettered as "Central Pacific RR"  "#60" the "Jupiter" and went into the movies.  As 315 was no longer in serviceable condition, it wasn't steamed up.  It was shoved everywhere on the movie job by a US Army diesel that was being field-tested on the D&RGW narrow gauge.  The diesel was disguised to look like a baggage car.

315 returned to Brookside park, dressed as the Jupiter for a while before being repainted basic D&RGW black.  315 was later moved to another park location in Durango and subsequently restored for operation by local volunteers.  The engine has run on  both the Durango & Silverton and Cumbres & Toltec Railroads.  Currently it resides in Chama, NM on the C&TS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/19 09:04 by Earlk.

Thanks for the information. So was 315 "toted" from S.F. after being shipped around the Horn?  I doubted any engine likely to be found in a park in Durango "ran from" S.F. to Colorado circa 1871...
By the way, you mis-typed "316" at one point.

Espee2019 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the information. So was 315 "toted"
> from S.F. after being shipped around the Horn?  I
> doubted any engine likely to be found in a park in
> Durango "ran from" S.F. to Colorado circa 1871...
> By the way, you mis-typed "316" at one point.

315 was built in 1896 for the Florence & Cripple Creek RR, a 3-foot gauge line running between those two Colorado towns.  When the F&CC was abandoned after a massive flood took out a major part of the RR, the engine was sold to the Denver & Rio Grande about 1917.  The D&RG(W) ran it on its far flung narrow gauge system until about 1949, when it was retired and given to the town of Durango.

So, 315 never was in San Francisco, never went around the Horn.  All of that is pure fantasy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/19 09:11 by Earlk.

Whatever committee wrote the Wikipedia article on #315 has "1868" as its construction date in the introduction; "1895" elsewhere.
So I was (temporarily) willing to give a degree of belief to the book's "1871" tale.

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