Jonathan:
There are many photos in the Denver Public Library Western History collection showing the mines served by these C&S branches. Several of the photos depict the car loading process, and one or two show C&S locomotives. The Catskill Branch down into northeastern New Mexico was abandoned quite early (cut back to a few miles out of Trinidad by 1902), so photos of it are all but non-existent. It was built to serve the timber resources, and the associated charcoal ovens, of the Maxwell Land Grant and did so quite successfully for about 10 years, until the timber reserves in that area were depleted. There is a great deal on these various coal mine branches and spurs, as well as the Catskill Branch, in by manuscript on the first ten years of the C&S, but as I noted in an earlier post, that manuscript totals some 2 million words and thus is not likely to ever be published conventionally. My best hope is to ultimately get it online or in DVD format.
Hol Wagner
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
From: jonathanharris@earthlink.net
Date: Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:45:05 +0000
Subject: [CBQ] C&S branch lines in southeast Colorado and northern New Mexico
A posting on another list got me wondering (again) about the C&S branchlines around the Trinidad area that went W-SW up various valleys in southeastern Colorado and into northern New Mexico (to serve mostly coal mines, presumably). I've never found any photos of these branches at DPL nor seen any real description of them, other than seeing them on maps. I realize these branches were off the beaten track and they didn't last all that long, but I'm wondering if somebody has info about their operations or especially, knows of any relevant photos.
Best to the group,
Jonathan Harris
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