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Several years ago when my son was visiting I had several books out. The books were The C&S by Wagner, the CRM Santa Fe in the West, one of the Brown Ghost Towns of Colorado and the Ghost Railroads of Colorado.
My son suggested taking a trip as he had a company car with free miles. Inspired by and armed with these books, my wife, son and I headed south on I-25 to explore the C&S, C&SE, D&RGW and C&W.
We started at Ludlow, went west past the Hastings town and mine sites up the Del Agua canyon. Some building foundations, some evidence of coke ovens. No sign of a turntable or mine. Some cowboys and cows. Beautiful day. Spanish Peaks were beautiful. Hundreds of men died in a disaster at the Hastings Mine in 1917. Only a small marker now..
Back at Ludlow we went south and found the ghost town of Ludlow right next to the C&S track. It is fenced off and owned by somebody. We went west again under the track through another ghost town whose name I can't remember but I believe was on a C&S branch. This town was built of stone and concrete, most buildings still standing but nobody living there. The road continued over a water divide to Bon Carbo and Cokedale on the Rio Grande. Really neat towns! People still living there and some preservation still going on. Preserved coke ovens at Cokedale. Cows and llamas also.
At Cokedale we went west on CO 12 past Primero(fenced in) Segundo and south to Tercio. The maps indicated we should be able to go down into New Mexico and hit the west end of the C&S branch talked about in earlier messages. The Ghost RR book indicated we would need a jeep. The fence indicated we wouldn't be able to find out. The road into Tercio is fenced on both sides and the end. There is a cemetery and the foundation of a church, which probably is the only reason we got that far. The Sangre de Cristos are to the west and are spectacular. The company store still stands but is beyond the fence. Also as the clouds made things go dark, lights of a landing strip paralleling
The clouds and rain came inf from the west and that and a flat tire cut short the day.
I must thank the authors of those books for inspiring a wonderful day. Since then I have gotten the C&W book and a couple on the coal wars.
Chuck Seemann Aurora, Colorado Life Member CRM __._,_.___
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