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Pathfinder #10:
Resources at the Center of Southwest Studies for research on railroads of southwestern Colorado


The following collections at the Center of Southwest Studies contain historical documents that are useful for the study of narrow-gauge railroads of the region.
Look for this symbol  below to listen to selected sound recordings in MP3 file format.

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books photographs papers and printed materials
oral histories maps sounds artifacts

      (listed alphabetically in each category, by collection title)

Books at the Center of Southwest Studies pertaining to railroads:

Railroad topics are a strength of the book collection at the Delaney Southwest Research Library.  To search for items, use the Talon database.  A Library of Congress subject search for railroad* at the Center of Southwest Studies yields 286 results (if the search is expanded to Reed Library, the total is 539 entries).

For a recent concise description of railway pioneer Otto Mears and the mountain railroads he constructed, see pages 37-51 of The Builders: Jews and the growth of America/ by Harry A. Ezratty (Baltimore, Md.; Park Avenue Press, 2008), a hardcover book, 285 pages, in the Delaney Library book collection.

Papers and printed materials at the Center of Southwest Studies pertaining to railroads:

M 238: Alva F. Lyons papers: 12.5 document cases of historical records, 1882-2005 (bulk years 1940-1969), compiled by San Juan Basin narrow gauge railroad conductor Alva F. Lyons. Includes records and printed materials of the Order of Railroad Conductors. 

M 227: Clinton Conner Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad papers: 1 document case of materials pertaining to Clinton Conner's work as a brakeman and switchman for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Includes D&RGW railroad regulations, Mr. Conner’s work log books, documents pertaining to his having been moved from brakeman to switchman after a derailment, and the other papers and records he compiled and/or created.

M 018: Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad records: freight waybills, tickets, stubs, clearance cards, and a deck of playing cards with scenes along the Railroad's route from Colorado to California. Also, information on special cars, abandonment procedures, and other materials.

M 184: Nina Heald Webber Southwest Colorado printed materials: post cards volume 2: includes hundreds of views of regional railroads.

M 019: Rio Grande Southern Railroad records: includes bound letters, claims and reports (1890-1914), treasurer's records, coupons and other records of the narrow gauge railroad company.  Very extensive collection; it arrived in 16 fairly large shipping boxes and is housed on approximately 60 linear shelf feet.  This railroad was one of the narrow gauge lines assembled by Otto Mears.  It operated from 1890 to 1950, and ran from Durango through Mancos to Ridgway, Colorado.  In its later years the RGS developed the "Galloping Goose" to serve its region using 1 car.

M 053-029: Sagrillo railroad collection: cancelled payroll check, photos, and switch keys.

M 141: Southwest railroads collection: printed materials concerning railroads in Colorado and other Four Corners states.

Photograph collections at the Center of Southwest Studies pertaining to railroads:

P 041: Chione railroad slides: includes views of the Rio Grande Southern narrow gauge railroad that ran from Durango to Hesperus, Mancos, Dolores, Rico, Telluride, and Ridgway where it joined with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.

P 059: Dr. John Hubbard railroad photographs: includes approximately 30,000 photoprints depicting railroad equipment in Colorado.  The photoprints, which are of various sizes (no photonegatives) are grouped by railroad company.  Most of the photos are identified. They include the work of Gerald Best, Otto Perry, Richard Kendig, and other prolific Colorado photographers, as well as photos taken by the late Dr. John L. Hubbard himself.  Some of the photographs are duplicates, and not all of them are identified.  Also, approximately 25,500 color slide transparencies of railroad scenes all over the United States.  The collection also includes 4 records boxes of miscellaneous paper documents and printed materials pertaining to railroads, which can be useful in identifying and interpreting the photographs.  This collection was a gift from Mrs. John Hubbard (accession 2006:045).

P 001: General photograph collection category III photos of railroads: accessible digitally online starting at http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/finding_aids/images/P001/P00130100.htm

M 019: Nomad private railroad car scrapbook album, 1899-1957: histories and online digital images.

P 026: Rio Grande Southern Railroad photographs: approximately 367 photoprints (some, with matching negatives).

Map collections at the Center of Southwest Studies pertaining to railroads:

C 006: Rio Grande Southern Railroad maps: this narrow gauge railroad ran from Durango to Hesperus, Mancos, Dolores, Rico, Telluride, and Ridgway--where it joined with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.  Includes Item C001.01: Denver & Rio Grande Railroad right of way and track map of Durango, Colorado, 1937/ by Arthur Ridgway, for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, Fourth Division (Denver, Colo.)  Denver & Rio Grande Railroad map number Colo. V-17-A/19: Station 3541+84 to Station 3670+03.  This map is itself one section of a seventy-one-foot long by 24-inch high contiguous map of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad track and right of way all the way between the Durango railroad station and the Silverton railroad station.

Oral history collections at the Center of Southwest Studies on railroad topics:

In Collection U 003:  Durango oral history collection  Includes interviews with:
Lyons, Alva F. (5 interviews by Rae Haynes, September-November 1989)
 Sawyer, Robert "Bob"

In Collection U 004: Southwest oral history collection.  Includes interviews with:
Day, George Vest
Chione, Alfred G., M.D.
 Lyons, Alva F. (9 interviews by Robert W. Delaney, June-July 1982)
Wagner, Will A.

In Collection U 010:  U.S. Forest Service Mancos District Cherry Creek Thompson Park Oral History Project Includes an interview with:
Archuleta, Joe R.

Digitized sound recordings in collections at the Center of Southwest Studies pertaining to railroads:

Sounds of narrow gauge railroads:

  •    7/27/1958 - 3/14/1959.  Sounds of narrow gauge railroads (CSWS recording no. 461).  Digitized!  Click here to listen online:  Side A  ~  Side B.   Reel side A (copied onto audiotape 1, sides a and b): Rio Grande, 0 to 42, told by Bruce Aker (sp?). Reel side B (copied onto both sides of audiocassette tape 2): narrow gauge to Silverton. According to the note on the master reel box, Bruce Aker sent this tape to Alva Lyons on March 14, 1959; John Braggs made the record between Alamosa and Chama; Jim Stevens recorded the sounds from Romeo to Antonito with Engines 480 and 490. Copied onto two 90 minute audiocassette tapes in May 1996 from one 7" magnetic tape reel.  Digitized 5/1/2006 through the Center's grant with the Collaborative Digitization Project (Todd Ellison, Project Director).

  •    8/14/1966.  Sounds of narrow gauge railroads (CSWS recording no. 459). Digitized!  Click here to listen online:  Side A  ~  Side B.  Reel side A: voice of Bill Fletcher, President, Railroad Club, on Durango and Rio Grande Western narrow gauge railroad, Durango to Hermosa, August 14, 1966. Reel side B: Leadville to Climax climb; 0 to 74, by Elolte Larsen; Engine #641, 2-8-0 10 car drag, standard gauge...; Engine #478, 95 to 150; Engines #476 and 483, 150 to 210; thunderstorm, 223 to 320; 321 to end, organ music (see reel box for more details), April 17 (1967?). Copied (May, 1996) from one 5" 1.5 mil acetate reel tape onto one 90-minute audiocassette.  (Digital recording contents note: the first seconds of Side A is the voice of Gayle Maloy or Louis L'Amour at the Ignacio peace treaty ceremony; skip past that to hear Mr. Fletcher's introduction to his compilation of railroad sounds.)

Transcribed interviews in the Southwest oral history collection:

  •    Oral history interview of Alva Lyons by Robert W. Delaney, June 25, 1982 (CSWS interview no. 463). Digitized!  Click here to listen online:  Side A  ~  Side B.   Transcribed by Catherine Conrad on April 3, 1996; edited by Todd Ellison on April 4, 1996. Release signed by Dr. Delaney and Center of Southwest Studies 1/98. Release signed 10/24/2005 by Alva Lyons' daughter Martha McDaniel.  Also, click to read the transcription of this interview: 6/25/82.  (Requires Adobe Reader free downloadable software, version 6.0 or more recent.)

  •    Oral history interview of Alva Lyons by Robert W. Delaney, June 29, 1982 (CSWS interview no. 464). Digitized!  Click here to listen online:  Side A  ~  Side B.   Transcribed by Catherine Conrad on March 26, 1996; edited by Todd Ellison on April 4, 1996. Release signed by Dr. Delaney and Center 1/1998. Release signed 10/24/2005 by Alva Lyons' daughter Martha McDaniel.  Also, click to read the transcription of this interview: 6/29/82.  (Requires Adobe Reader free downloadable software, version 6.0 or more recent.)

Artifact collections at the Center of Southwest Studies pertaining to railroads:

F 008: Southwest railroad artifacts: includes the bell that was on the last steam locomotive engine that hauled coke from Tercio (southwest of Trinidad); switch keys; Otto Mears' buckskin pass; numerous items of railroadiana; and models of a D&RGW engine, the Chama railroad car, and the depot at Rico.

F 047: A. F. Lyons railroadiana artifacts: Southwest Colorado narrow gauge railroad artifacts: includes a scale model of the Rico (Colo.) railroad depot; a battery powered speaker used by Alva Lyons as a conductor; track switching lanterns; oil can lamps; telegraph; conductor's hat and bag; ticket stamps; rubber stamps; copper-plated gold railroad spike; brochures and tickets.

This guide was produced by Todd Ellison, Archivist, Center of Southwest Studies, 2006 (last updated February 7, 2008).


Doing your own research: This description of a portion of the collections at the Fort Lewis College Center of Southwest Studies is provided to inform interested parties about the nature and depth of the repository's collections.  It cannot serve as a substitute for a visit to the repository for those with substantial research interests in the collections.

These collections are located at the Center of Southwest Studies on the campus of Fort Lewis College.  Researchers wanting more information about using these materials at the Delaney Southwest Research Library at the Center may email the archivist at archives@fortlewis.edu or click here to use our E-mail Reference Request Form (or phone the archivist at 970/247-7126).  The Center does not have a budget for outgoing long-distance phone calls to answer reference requests, so please email if you wish to receive a response from the Center.  To request reproductions/copies, click here for instructions.

 

Page revised: February 07, 2008