----- Original Message -----
From: "William Franckey" <budapest@g...>
To: <BRHSlist@egroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 10:05 PM
Subject: Re: [BRHSlist] Ballast.
> Karl, There's one more color to consider......gold. On Sept. 5, 1924,
the
> Q announced that passengers on the CB&Q east of Denver would be riding on
a
> roadbed of gold. The 400 miles would be ballasted with slag from the gold
> and silver mines of Colorado. Each ton of this ballast contained at least
> $2 worth of gold ore. The quantity was too small for the smelting
companies
> to get out profitably with machinery then in use. Great piles of this
slag
> had accumulated in and around Denver and other points in Colorado. The
> Burlington contracted for a large part of it. The Burlington announced
that
> in time, a roadbed of gold would cover the entire system. REPUBLICAN
> REGISTER WAF
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Karl L Rethwisch" <karlre@r...>
> To: <BRHSlist@egroups.com>
> Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 10:28 AM
> Subject: Re: [BRHSlist] Ballast.
>
>
> > On the C&S north and parts of the Q, in the areas close to Denver, the
> ballast was decomposed granite obtained from pits on the UP. We still get
> ballast trains delivered to Cheyenne from UP.
> >
> > On the C&S south lines a product of volcanic activity was "substituted"
> for ballast, scoria, crushed volcanic cinders. This material performs far
> better in gas grilles than it does under RR track. When placed as ballast
> it becomes pulverized below the ties and, as a result, affords no
drainage.
> When the massive rail relay gangs of the early eighties began to install
132
> lb. CWR on the C&S south of Walsenburg, CO. the entire line had to be
> undercut to remove all traces of the scoria and replaced it with real
> ballast, namely, decomposed granite. The granite came from several
> different geographical areas of the country mainly because the enormous
> quantities needed could not be provided any single source. The colors
are,
> generally, red and black.
> >
> > Karl
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
> ---------------------------------
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: Paul Evans
> > To: BRHSlist@egroups.com
> > Sent: Sunday, January 14, 2001 5:16 AM
> > Subject: [BRHSlist] Ballast.
> >
> >
> > I have checked back to message 6000 and no data.
> >
> > What mineral did was used as ballast fro the tracks in Colorado and
> > where was it mined.
> >
> > Paul Evans
> >
> >
> > eGroups Sponsor
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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