Nostalgia & History > Railroad Canyon

I did a Google Image Search for Railroad Canyon and among the results were the following photos.

Picture 1 is from the following website,

http://www.thetrain.com/the-train/history-of-the-train

The following excerpt is from the above website,

“Initially, the main line west was built from Chicago to Los Angeles and it passed through Williams, Arizona. The Railroad was originally built to transport ore in the Wild West from the Anita mines, 45 miles north of Williams, in the late 1800s. Buckey O’Neill, sheriff of Yavapi County, mayor of Prescott, prospector, promoter and later one of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, realized money could be made in the mines. He traveled east to gain the support and investment. O’Neill gained the support of Thomas Lombard from the investment firm of Lombard, Goode and Company in New York. Together they entered conversations with the Santa Fe Pacific Railroad.

To help gain the interest of the Santa Fe, O’Neill sent ore samples of gold saying he had mined the samples from the Grand Canyon. In the same letter, however, O’Neill also recognized the potential for tourism so he spoke to the natural beauty of the region and the canyon. O’Neill continued to flirt with the Santa Fe through the years seeking their investment. He also tried to get local investors, which he did, and in 1897 the Santa Fe and Grand Canyon Railroad Company was incorporated. Development of the tracks north from Williams began. O’Neill would not see its completion. He left to fight in the Spanish American War behind Colonel Theodore Roosevelt where he died in 1898.

The railroad changed management and consolidated numerous times in the early year. Finally, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway took over and completed the track to Grand Canyon in 1901. The company could make a return on its investment through tourism because the lure of ore and mining proved to be unsustainable. The $3.95 train ride would replace the $15.00 eight-hour stagecoach ride from Flagstaff, allowing visitors to gaze upon what Teddy Roosevelt said, “Every American should see.” The 65 miles of track the iron horse traveled became the lifeline to Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon Railway made its first journey to the Grand Canyon on September 17, 1901.”

Picture 1, “Last steam train travels the route to the Grand Canyon.”

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For a Zoomit enlargement of picture 1 click on http://zoom.it/YgeTz#full . Click on the + button in the lower right hand corner of the picture until the picture stops enlarging. Use the cursor and the left mouse button to move the picture.

Picture 2 is from the website,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canyon_Diablo_(canyon)

The following excerpt is from the above website,

“Canyon Diablo (Navajo: Kin Łigaaí) is a canyon north of Two Guns in Northern Arizona. It is located in the Navajo Indian Reservation. The canyon passes 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Meteor Crater. The community of Canyon Diablo, Arizona on the edge of the canyon about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the crater was the closest community to the crater when scientists began investigating the crater. Consequently the meteorite that caused the crater is officially called the Canyon Diablo meteorite.[1] The 1930 Canyon Diablo highway bridge, once used by U.S. Route 66 to cross the canyon south of the present I-40 bridges, is on the National Register of Historic Places.[2] The BNSF Canyon Diablo railroad bridge is a well-known railfan site.[3]

Picture 2, “Railroad bridge over Canyon Diablo in 1870’s.”

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For a Zoomit enlargement of picture 2 click on http://zoom.it/3sE5#full .

Picture 3 is from the following website,

http://elkorose.schopine.com/carlincanyon.html

Picture 3, "The ring of picks, shovels, and sledgehammers echoed through Carlin Canyon in late 1868, as Chinese laborers leveled the road bed and spiked down the Central Pacific railroad tracks. For the next 35 years steam engine whistles resounded through the canyon. By 1903 the curving tracks had been rerouted through a tunnel eliminating the slow crawl along the river.’ (photo, courtesy of Northeastern Nevada Museum, and text taken from road sign at picnic area in Carlin Canyon).”

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For a Zoomit enlargement of picture 3 click on http://zoom.it/FEBE#full .

Picture 4 is from the following website,

http://buddiesinthesaddle.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html

Picture 4, “Railroad, Platte Canyon, Wyoming, 1923.”

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For a Zoomit enlargement of picture 4 click on http://zoom.it/HL1g#full .

Truly amazing how the bridge at Canyon Diablo was constructed back in those days.

Kent in Carmel Valley

flynn Wrote:
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> Picture 4, “Railroad, Platte Canyon, Wyoming,
> 1923.”

"Buddiesinthesaddle" has this caption wrong. This is in Colorado, not Wyoming. This is the Denver, South Park & Pacific RR in Colorado. That area is now a biking and hiking trail called Waterton Canyon in Southwest Denver area.
http://www.narrowgauge.org/images/tkcok/m00118.jpg

Thanks jridge for the correction.

The picture below is from the Denver Public Library.

"Call Number: MCC-263. Enlarged 40%. Title: Bridge above Deansbury, Platte Cañon. Title-Alternative: L. C. McClure collection 1890-1935, album VII, 19. Creator(s): McClure, Louis Charles, 1867-1957. Summary: View of Platte Canyon and rushing waters of South Platte River along the Colorado and Southern Railway's narrow gauge track above Deansbury, Colorado; shows metal railroad bridge spanning river and narrow vertical canyon walls. Date: [between 1900 and 1930].”



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/13 15:30 by flynn.

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