Page 14 - November December 2016

Book Review by Nick Prior
"SILVER RAILS, The Railroads of Leadville, Colorado" by Christopher James
Published: Sierra Grande Press $59.95
288 pages, 400 b/w and colour photographs and maps
In 1860 gold was discovered in a tributary of the Arkansas River on the west flank of the Mosquito Range of Western Colorado leading to the founding of Leadville. By 1870 the boom resulting from placer mining was over but revived in the mid 1870s when silver ore was discovered in quantity and hard rock mining commenced. Transport over the mountains out of Leadville over Mosquito Pass was hazardous and hundreds of horses, mules and wagons were required with all the logistics needed for feeding and quartering the animals. Better
transport was sorely needed.
The narrow gauge Denver & Rio Grande RR reached Leadville in 1880 (having been delayed by a dispute with the ATSF over who had right of way through the Royal Gorge) departing the Denver main line at Pueblo and following the Arkansas River west and northwest. Meanwhile the equally narrow gauge Denver Pacific & South Park RR was building south west from Denver. Both railroads arrived in Buena Vista, south of Leadville, at the same time and agreed to share a joint line from there to Leadville. Thus the DP&SP and Rio Grande arrived simultaneously in Leadville. Seeing the profits to be obtained from Leadville trade the Colorado Midland began building a standard gauge line westward from the Denver main at Colorado Springs arriving in Leadville in 1887.
SILVER RAILS describes the planning and execution of these railroads along with the problems, financial, legal and geographic, that plagued their builders. A whole chapter is devoted to the Royal Gorge war between the DRG and ATSF and separate chapters cover the actual building of each railroad. It is interesting that while the DRG and DPSP reached Leadville at the same time, the Denver Pacific & South Park were the first to derive profit from Leadville trade since as they built through South Park goods and ore were pouring over Mosquito Pass to and from the latest railhead. There are also chapters on the onward westward building efforts of the three railroads as well as the building by the DP&SP of an alternate route into Leadville when the joint
line agreement floundered. There are detailed descriptions of the DRG's routing over Marshall and Tennessee Passes to Gunnison, Grand Junction and Salt Lake City, the DP&SP's routing over Alpine Pass to Gunnison and that of the Colorado Midland over Hagerman Pass to Grand Junction and into Utah, including details of the low dealings between these railroads. Not to be forgotten are the fascinating details of the railroads in Leadville itself. Finally, it charts the decline of the three railroads in and around Leadville as its importance waned in the 20th Century, and details the one remnant, the Leadville Colorado & Southern tourist railway.
The book is lavishly illustrated (with some colour) and contains a wealth of maps, including many unique to this publication. Indeed it includes over 400 photographs and maps.
If you want a detailed roster of the locomotives, rolling stock, account ledgers and facilities of each railroad down to the last rivet then this book is probably not for you. Rather it provides a general history of the railroads that reached Leadville and beyond as well as the railroads in Leadville itself, detailing how they achieved it and the people involved both on the railways and in the town. This is a book that will be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about the railroads that drove into the mountains west of Denver and the relationships between these railroads. So far as I am aware this is the only book that provides a detailed history of all the railroads involved in the westward push to Leadville and beyond in one volume and it is certainly the only book that provides a detailed history of the railroads in that Mecca as well such a flavour of the ill assorted; saloon keepers, lawyers, clergy and housewives, miners, gamblers, good time girls and hangers on, who flooded to the loudest, richest and most sought after city in the west in the late 19th Century.
While the book contains many illustrations with captions, the text is in eminently readable narrative style which barrels along making each turn of the page an adventure. I have really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in Colorado mountain railroads.
With the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grande and the Denver South Park & Pacific , Leadville had easy access to all manner of goods from the outside world , many of which are under close examination by customers in this engraving from "Frank Leslie's Illustrated News".
Suits, hats, shoes, boots, weapons, baskets and millinery items were now available as easily as they would be in Denver, Chicago, St. Louis or any other major city in America.
14 ROUNDHOUSE December 2016