Rocky Mountain Railroad Club Rail Report March 2025

Presidents Letter March 2025

I want to thank Zach Green for his outstanding program at the February Club meeting. Despite the cold weather, almost fifty members and guests (in-person and on-line) were treated to some spectacular images that Zach has
taken over the last twenty years. He travels over the western United States in conjunction with his job as a land-surveyor resulting in his presentation of a cornucopia of beautiful scenery, numerous trains, and dramatic nighttime
images of railroading. We sincerely thank Zach for sharing these with us.
We are continuing to clear out some of the items stored at our World Headquarters storage unit and are bringing them to Club meetings for members to have at no cost or for a modest fee. Just for example, we have about a dozen 75th Anniversary glass steins ($5.00). At the February meeting we had a number of Union Pacific calendars in new condition dating from 1970 to the later 1990s. They were free, as were some patches and pins commemorating the 75th anniversary. No telling what might be available at
future meetings.

We have researched the dissolution process as described in our Articles of Incorporation for both the Club and the Foundation. Both documents indicate dissolution is conducted as outlined in our bylaws as follows: The
business and affairs of the corporation shall be managed by its board of directors, except as otherwise provided in the Colorado Nonprofit Corporation Act, the articles of incorporation, these bylaws, or from time to time, by vote of the membership. Furthermore, since both organizations’
bylaws state that they have members, the dissolution section of the Act makes it clear that our members must vote on the topic of dissolution.
The Board will be discussing how and when to conduct a special meeting of the membership to vote on dissolution. Our bylaws allow for Special meetings which may be virtual and or live-streamed. Meeting type, whether in person or virtual, is at the discretion of the board. “Each member of the corporation, at every meeting of the members, is entitled to one vote per person upon each subject properly given to vote. Members cannot grant vote proxies.” We will provide more details once a meeting date is confirmed. (See the special meeting notice above)
As you are reading this article, our dues renewal process for this year will be finished and new membership numbers will be assigned. This year, your membership cards will be unique. They will be metal cards with the same
information as has been provided in the past, but in a special way. We have not decided if we need to wait until the membership votes on dissolution to distribute the membership cards or not. We will decide that at the March
Board meeting.
Over the last few weeks, I have been re-reading the Rail Reports on the Club website (see https://www.rockymtnrrclub.org/train_news.htm ). We have a complete file on-line dating back to the earliest issues. What amazes me is the variety and number of activities the Club has done over 87 years. We held sixty-nine banquets and formal dinners, we arranged and conducted more than 400 excursions and field trips. In addition to workday picnics at the Colorado Railroad Museum, we had steak dinners and ice cream at Ranniger’s Roadbed Commissary all across the state. Our membership started in 1938 with about twenty-five men, and by 1949, had grown to 221 men and women. We peaked in 1997 at 1,071. Since 2015, our historical foundation has provided over $52,000 in grants to other railroad related organizations in support of their preservation and restoration activities, not including gifts to the Colorado Railroad Museum.
The most remarkable aspect of this Club is its members. Cornelius Hauck is member Number 1 and has been in the Club for 76 years. More than half of us have been members for 35 years and more. This Club’s legacy is directly related to each of you who have volunteered to help in countless ways. Planning meetings, field trips and excursions, presenting programs, helping with restoration and repair of equipment, authoring books and other publications, sharing photographs, setting up monthly meetings, creating, printing and distributing the Rail Report every month since 1959 (65 years!) and so many other activities. Without each of you, we would not have been here 87 years. And even though we announced plans to dissolve last Fall, more than 270 of you have renewed for this year out of 308 that were
members last year. That is dedication and commitment! The Board genuinely thanks you for your support through this transition year. It may become our last year, but we (and you) will not be forgotten.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to call or text me at 303-717-8941 or email me at dave@dcgoss.com

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OmniTRAX has donated the Great Western Railway Loveland depot to the City of Loveland, CO. Mammoth Movers lifted the wood depot off its foundation in early February 2025. The depot was moved 250 feet from railroad property onto City of Loveland property on February 6, 2025.

After twelve years of efforts, the Loveland Historical Society’s Save the Great Western Depots Committee has thankfully accomplished the first phase of the project to preserve our two Great Western Depots. The 1901 Great Western Sugar Factory, the first of eventually thirteen in northern Colorado, preceded the GW Railway by one year.

At the time of the first harvest, farmers brought their sugar beets to the factory by wagon …. many wagon loads per field. The advent of the railway and beet dumps spaced a few miles apart along the tracks made the harvest operation much more efficient. The rails also brought in lime and coal, and shipped out refined sugar. Passenger service to eastern Colorado towns was added in 1917 and ended in 1927. Tourist and school excursions were conducted in the early 1980s, but the railway never got back on its feet. The sugar factory operated in Loveland for 8 decades, tripling the little berg’s population and it’s economy in the first 10 years. It was a very important piece of history to Lovelanders, as most had family members, if not themselves, who were involved in the industry.

The Historical Society began talking to Omnitrax, the current railroad owner, in 2012. The company was willing to give the passenger and freight (LCL) depots to anyone who would move them off railroad property, as they were too close to the tracks for today’s codes and had been unused since 1985. Communication was spotty; progress was nearly at a dead halt when the railroad decided they wanted the depots gone asap. A forced decision was made to give them to a new railroad museum planning to open in Granby. But after a few years, when nothing was done on this score, the project to save them in Loveland was revisited with vigor.

The SGWD Committee has been fundraising for phase one, that is structural assessment, hazardous materials assessment and abatement, moving the buildings, and necessary marketing materials, by seeking individual and corporate donations, plus a few smaller grants. Now that the depots have recently been moved to City property (about 50’ from their original location, and still within the original Great Western complex), and the City of Loveland owns them, they are eligible for historical landmark status. Once they are listed on the historical register, larger grant applications can be made.

The passenger depot will be placed on a new foundation, but it will most likely sit on beams for two or three years. The 1942 LCL depot will be on stilts, as it was originally. The Committee will continue to raise money for restoration and maintenance of the depots. We are selling commemorative bricks that will be incorporated into the landscaping around the depots. We hope the future will include a piece of rolling stock, possibly a GW Dinky loco, or caboose, or even the old GW combination car as a static display. The reuse of the buildings has not been decided, but they will be for the public to enjoy. (Info courtesy of Sharon Danhauser)

You can help by donating online at https://www.lovelandhistorical.org/great-western-depots OR via mail: LHS, P.O. Box 7311, Loveland, CO, 80537 OR on their Facebook page.

Contact sadanhau@gmail.com OR suttop2@yahoo.com

August 24, 1939

The [Railroad] club will run an excursion up Pike's Peak next Sunday; by guaranteeing 25 (passengers) we got a steam train for $2.70 per ticket (regular fare $3.50); wish you could go along.

D&RGW is running the extra from Pueblo to Denver in the morning quite regularly now, and a Denver & Salt Lake extra (D&RGW train via D&SL) with a string of empty reefers for Grand Junction, CO, leaves Burnham almost every afternoon. I'll advise you of the engines to be used on the Moffat as soon as I find out.

September 7, 1939

Enclosed are some shots (not in this Rail Report) which may be of interest to you. Incidentally, I took the action shot of 3607 from the shop window at Western Electric during working hours; very convenient having the track just outside the window! A couple of seconds after I shot, 800 and 1801 came by with the Scenic Limited (passenger train).

Today (Sept 7, 1939) I got a shot of Santa Fe 2 pulling the "Super Chief" into Denver. Due to a washout, the 3 fast trains were routed thru Denver and via Union Pacific to Salt Lake (Utah) and Barstow (California). However, Chief and El Capitan were later in the day, so I didn't get them - arrived at work at 9:30 AM, and the boss got a big kick out of my doings! Fortunately, he was a genial bird, so I didn't have to manufacture any elaborate excuse; he said he wanted to see the pictures when I got them!

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When Dick Kindig died on April 7, 2008 at the age of 92, he held Club membership card #1. He was buried at Denver's Fort Logan National Cemetery.

Dick's contributions to the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club were many. He was the Club's vice president and treasurer in 1939 and treasurer in 1946, 1950-51 and 1955. He served as president in 1960 and was secretary in 1965 and 1966. He bought a ticket for most of the excursions the Club sponsored and took photos during the trips. ( from Chasing Railroad History - Correspondence of Five Charter Members of The Rocky Mountain Railroad Club by Daniel W. Edwards, published 2020)