The Colorado and Southern Railway

The Colorado and Southern Railway is one of the West's most fabled lines even though it spent much of its existence as a subsidiary of the much larger Chicago, Burlington & Quincy system. However, it has a very complicated and interesting background. The C&S began as a means to reorganize and takeover a number of bankrupt operations which radiated west, north, and south of Denver, much of which was originally controlled by the Union Pacific. The C&S instantly became a rather sizable Class I system once it gained control of the the UP's interests and later the Fort Worth & Denver City, which connected most of Texas' largest cities. While most of the C&S's narrow-gauge operations have long since been abandoned many of its lines, especially in Texas remain in operation under successor and Class I, BNSF Railway, today.

The other initial component of the C&S was the Cheyenne & Northern Railway, chartered in 1886 and which became a property of the Union Pacific after it completed its initial 125-mile main line between Cheyenne and Wendover, Wyoming. After UP took over the line in 1887 it continued it northward to Orin Junction. Four years later in 1891 the UP created the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railway to combine several railroads it controlled including the Cheyenne & Northern; Colorado Central, and Denver, Texas & Gulf; Denver, Texas & Fort Worth; and Fort Worth & Denver City.

The latter three companies mentioned above operated in southern Colorado and through most of Texas. The Denver, Texas & Gulf had been incorporated on March 18, 1886 to takeover the bankrupt operation of the Denver & New Orleans Railroad, which had constructed a 125-mile line between Denver and Pueblo. Soon after that line was completed a new railroad was chartered; the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth on April 12, 1887, to continue the line southeast and a connection with the Fort Worth & Denver City (which was renamed the Fort Worth & Denver in 1951) at Union Park, New Mexico Territory which was completed in March, 1888. The DT&FW gained controlled of both the FW&DC and DT&G and all three were operated as a single system.

The Colorado and Southern Railway came about because of the bankruptcy of the Union Pacific on October 13, 1893. Due to the UP's receivership it was forced to divest itself of its ownership of the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railway; a rather large system for its day, it spanned from Dallas, Texas to Orin Junction, Wyoming connecting cities like Denver, Pueblo, Cheyenne, Amarillo and others along the way.

Officially, the C&S was born on December 19, 1898 to take over not only the Union Pacific, Denver & Gulf Railway but also the narrow-gauge operations it held (all mentioned above and including the Denver, Leadville & Gunnison Railway, which operated the former lines of the famed Denver, South Park & Pacific Railway). In all, these narrow-gauge lines connected many of Colorado's mining towns like Georgetown, Silver Plume, Climax, Leadville, Golden and Gunnison.

The final, but shortlived component of the original Colorado and Southern Railway was the Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District Railway, which connected its namesake cities, along with the town of Victor. The CS&CCD was a standard-gauge operation but like the narrow-gauge lines to north its primary function was to serve the region's mining interests. It only remained a part of the C&S from 1904 through 1911 before leasing the line to the Florence & Cripple Creek Railway. The CS&CCD operated for just nine more years before abandoning operations in 1920.

The C&S itself operated for only ten years as a independent company before being purchased by the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy in 1908 hoping to tap the large cities and markets the C&S served. For the Colorado & Southern's part it remained a separate entity from the CB&Q and operated independently, partly due to the fact that Texas law required such and that all railroads operating within its borders be headquartered within the state.

Due to the Colorado and Southern Railway's narrow-gauge becoming less and less profitable it slowly sold off or abandoned the operations piecemeal until the final leg still in operation to Golden, Colorado was converted to standard gauge in 1943. Today this section of the route is still operated to serve the Coors Brewery located there although virtually all of the rest of the C&S's once vast narrow-gauge operations are but a memory. The lone exception is a small, 4.5-mile section of the line around Georgetown which today operates as the Georgetown Loop Railroad during the summer months of the year.

The C&S remained an independent operation through the first eight decades of the 20th century before it was finally merged into the Burlington Northern on December 31, 1981. Ironically, the C&S's subsidiary, the Fort Worth & Denver remained on the books for two more years before being folded into BN on December 31, 1982. Today, much of the original Colorado and Southern Railway main line through Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming remains in operation by successor and Class I BNSF Railway. For information and history of the Colorado and Southern Railway please click here.

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For an all-time diesel locomotive roster of the Colorado and Southern Railway please click here. Also, for an excellent listing of EMD-built diesel locomotives, including those owned by the C&S please click here. Lastly, please click here to locate preserved C&S diesel locomotives.

Electro-Motive Corporation/Electro-Motive Division

General Electric

For a more complete roster of Colorado and Southern Railway steam locomotives please click here. Also, for information regarding surviving C&S steam locomotives please click here.

(A deep thanks to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University for allowing Ron Nixon's historic collection of the Colorado and Southern Railway to be featured here. Please note that the photos featured on this page feature their corresponding image number so that you may quickly and easily find more information about it from their website. To view Ron Nixon's entire collection please click here.)

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