Railroad Wars: Royal Gorge, Colorado by Zina Abbott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the time of a huge silver and lead strike in the late 1870s, when miners began pouring into the Arkansas River Valley of Southern Colorado in search for gold, silver and lead, the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) and the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (AT&SF) were already bitter rivals.

May 1891 Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad map

In 1878, the AT&SF competed against the D&RG to put the first line through Raton Pass. Both railroads had extended lines into Trinidad, Colorado, and the pass was the only access to continue on to New Mexico. There was a great deal of legal maneuvering, and even threatened violence between rival gangs of railroad workers. To break the impasse, in February 1878, AT&SF hired a number of local gunfighters. Faced with this threat, and running out of money, the D&RG was forced to cede the pass to its rivals. With this loss, their ambitions of achieving the “Rio Grande” portion of their company name also ended.

The large gold finds in Leadville attracted the attention of both railroads.  Both had tracks in the lower Arkansas Valley at the time. The AT&SF had reached Pueblo, about thirty-five miles east of Cañon City where the D&RG had its tracks. Leadville was over one hundred miles northwest of Cañon City. Both these railroads wanted the right-of-way for transporting ore and other freight to and from the mining regions.

1881 Royal Gorge

Normally, it would not be unreasonable for two competing lines to build tracks close to each other. The big bottleneck that dictated only one could travel this route was the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River. Starting about eight miles east of Cañon City at the confluence of Grape Creek, the ten-mile-long canyon was comprised of sheer granite walls that plunged 1,250 into the Arkansas River. It was thirty feet at its narrowest point. The floor of the gorge presented itself as an almost impossible barrier for placing one set of tracks. It could not accommodate two.

Tour train at beginning of eastern entrance Royal Gorge

In April of 1878, a construction crew assembled by the AT&SF began grading for a rail line west of Cañon City at the mouth of the gorge. The D&RG, which had track that ended about three-quarters of a mile east of Cañon City, quickly sent crews to the same area, but were blocked by the AT&SF workers at the narrow entrance. This was to be the first round in the two-year struggle of the Royal Gorge War.

 

1871 Baldwin 2-4-0, first D&RG locomotive

Smaller in size, but big in ambition, the D&RG held its ground and refused to allow Santa Fe access to Royal Gorge. Both rail lines hastily built forts. This time, both rail lines hired gunslingers to drive off the opposition. Both bought politicians while courts intervened to bring settlement to the disagreements.

Both railroads went to court in an effort to establish themselves as having the primary right of way. In April 1879, the D&RG was granted the right to build through the gorge.

 AT&SF announced it would build parallel tracks and compete with existing D&RG lines. Fearing financial ruin, bond holders of D&RG pressured management to lease the tracks to AT&SF for thirty years. A short-lived truce was established.

AT&SF controlling the D&RG lines proved to be detrimental to both the D&RG and the Denver merchants. AT&SF quickly began to manipulate freight rates south of Denver in favor of shippers from Kansas City over its lines to the east. During this period the AT&SF constructed the railroad through the Royal Gorge itself.

D&RG continued their construction west of the gorge in a continuing effort to block the AT&SF.

On March 20, 1879 the AT&SF hired Bat Masterson, a sheriff in Ford County, Kansas, at the time. Some sources allege AT&SF used its political influence to obtain a U.S. Marshal’s appointment for him so he could legally defend their property.  He put together a group of famous gunmen including Doc Holliday, Ben Thompson, Dave Rudabaugh, and “Mysterious” Dave Mather and about seventy other men. While lawyers argued both sides in court, armed men hired by Santa Fe took control of Rio Grande stations from Denver to Cañon City.

However, over the months, the income from the leased portion of the D&RG tracks continued to shrink. D&RG went to court to break the lease. On June 10, 1879,  court injunction restraining the AT&SF from operating on the D&RG lines, This sparked the armed retaking of the railroad by Denver & Rio Grande crews.

A form of guerilla warfare continued, with the AT&SF doing well through early June 1879. There was heavy fighting at the AT&SF’s garrisons in Colorado. The garrisons in Denver and Colorado Springs fell quickly. Masterson's headquarters in Pueblo held out the longest, but they eventually conceded defeat.

Castle Rock D7RG depot south of Denver

One story of the conflict took place in June 1879 involved R.F. Weitbrec, treasurer of the D&RG, suggesting to Chief Engineer J. A. McMurtrie, Sheriff Henly R. Price, and his deputy, Pat Desmond, that they “borrow” the cannon from the state armory as a way to drive Masterson and his men from the roundhouse. To their surprise and dismay, the group found that Masterson had already “borrowed” the cannon and had it at the roundhouse trained on the line of attackers.

Weitbrec assembled a group of gunmen. They stormed the telegraph office on the railroad platform and drove the defenders out the back windows, where, it is said, Henry Jenkins, the only causality of the war, was shot in the back by a drunken Rio Grande guard. They then turned their full attention to the roundhouse.

With the cannon trained on them, Weitbrec met with Masterson, who then surrendered the roundhouse. One anecdotal story claims Weitbrech paid Masterson and his men to leave. Although later criticized for accepting $25.000 to leave, Masterson probably left because of the court decision.

Whether the above is true or not, the battle that counted took place in the courts. On June 10, the state Fourth Judicial Circuit, with the later concurrence of the Federal Courts, ruled in favor of the D&RG. That completely changed the situation. With the assistance of the sheriffs in the counties through which the railroads passed, the Denver and Rio Grande mounted an attack on its rival's forces until the AT&SF surrendered their claim.

Salida, Colorado, Roundhouse

In March 1880, a Boston Court granted the AT&SF the rights to Raton Pass, while ordering the D&RG to pay an exorbitant amount for the trackage extending through the Royal Gorge.   While this "Treaty of Boston" did not completely favor the original D&RG intentions, it did give them access to the booming mining district of Leadville, Colorado, the wealth of the new mining settlements to the west, and the opportunity to expand into Utah.

The railroad “robber baron” Jay Gould agreed to loan the D&RG $400,000 while announcing the intention to complete a rail line in competition with the Santa Fe from St. Louis to Pueblo.

On March 27, 1880, both railroads signed what was called the Treaty of Boston, which settled all litigation and gave the D&RG back its railroad. D&RG paid Santa Fe $1.8 million for the rail line it had built in the gorge, the grading it had completed, materials on hand, and interest. The Royal Gorge War was over.

D&RG resumed construction and the rails finally reached Leadville on July 20, 1880. From there, it built westward.

If you would enjoy reading one of my earlier posts about the formation of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, please CLICK HERE

Set in the end of 1882, my next book to be released, Vinegar Pie by Varinia in the Old Timey Holiday Kitchen series takes me back to the Salida, Colorado, region. The Denver & Rio Grande Railway reached this town on May 20, 1880. To find the book description and pre-order link, please CLICK HERE

 

 

 

 

Sources:

https://www.coloradocentralmagazine.com/the-%E2%80%9Cwar%E2%80%9D-for-the-royal-gorge/

https://www.coloradocentralmagazine.com/

http://usgwarchives.net/maps/colorado/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mysterious_Dave_Mather

https://royalgorgeregion.com/royal-gorge-railroad-wars/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_Wars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_and_Rio_Grande_Western_Railroad

 

Early Years of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad by Zina Abbott

 

 

The Denver & Rio Grande Railway (D&RG) was founded in 1870 by General

William Jackson Palmer, a Civil War veteran, and a board of four directors. They intended for it to link Denver with the Mexican border by following its namesake, the Rio Grande River, for much of the way. He planned for it to reach to reach the San Juan mining district as well as going west to Salt Lake City. It was his decision to use the narrow gauge which would hold down costs and allow it to travel to the high Rocky Mountain communities. Its motto of Through the Rockies, not around them was intended to show that it was main carrier for the Rocky Mountain region in the United States. The first trip on the line occurred Oct. 26, 1871, and took passengers (primarily local newspapermen) from Denver to Colorado Springs.

1871 Baldwin 2-4-0, Montezuma, first locomotive built for D&RG

The D&RG operated the highest mainline rail service in the United States. Later, it adopted the motto, Main line through the Rockies. At its height in the mid-1880s, the company had the largest narrow-gauge railroad network in North America with 2,783 miles of track. It was a major carrier of coal and mineral cargo.

At its height in the mid-1880s, the D&RG had the largest narrow gauge railroad network in North America with 2,783 miles of track that joined the states of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Until 1983, the D&RGW operated the last private intercity passenger train in the United States, the Rio Grande Zephyr.

Closely assisted by his friend and new business partner Dr. William Bell, Palmer laid the first rails out of Denver on July 28, 1871 and reached the location of the

new town of Colorado Springs (then the Fountain Colony) by October 21. Because of stiff competition, such as with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad that involved hiring gunslingers and buying off politicians before it ended up in the courts, the line did not reach Mexico. It barely reached the northern part of New Mexico by a line that extended from Pueblo south over Raton Pass. However, it did retain the right of building the line through the Arkansas River valley.

Much of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway built toward Utah. From Pueblo, one line built west connecting Canon City (1874), Salida by way of Royal Gorge (1880), Gunnison (1881) to Montrose (1882). From there, a line went north to Grand Junction, Colorado. It was there that the line joined with the Rio Grande Western Railway.

1881 Denver & Rio Grande Passenger Coach

To facilitate the D&RG’s westward push, by late 1880. William Bell, Palmer’s business partner, began railway construction in Utah. By mid-1881, it became the Palmer controlled Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway (the “Western”). The intention of the D&RGW (Western) was to work eastward from Provo to eventually link with westward-bound D&RG in Colorado. This physical connection was realized near Green River, Utah on March 30, 1883. By May of that year, as previously planned, the D&RG formally leased its Utah subsidiary.

 

Unfortunately, by mid-1883, due to aggressive growth, financial difficulties and expenditures led to a shake up among the D&RG board of directors. Palmer resigned as president of the D&RG in August 1883, while retaining that position with the Western. He continue as president of the Utah line until retirement in 1901 which took place due to a company re-organization.

Frederick Lovejoy was appointed to fill Palmer's vacated seat on the Denver &Rio Grande. He and those that followed him attempted to direct the railroad through future struggles and successes. However, the later history of this railroad is full of financial and legal difficulties. Following bitter conflict with the Rio Grande Western during lease disagreements and continued financial struggles, the D&RG went into receivership in July 1884 with court appointed receiver William S. Jackson in control.

Salida, Colorado Rail Yard

 

Eventual foreclosure and sale of the original Denver & Rio Grande Railway resulted within two years and the new Denver & Rio Grande Railroad took formal control of the property and holdings on July 14, 1886 with Jackson appointed as president.

Although I am not covering the later history of this rail line which lasted until, in 1988, the parent company, Rio Grande Industries, purchased Southern Pacific and retained the more prominent railroad's name. However, I always get a kick out of researching a topic and then running across a connection in my family history. One of my grandfathers who lived in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah all his life retired in the 1950s as a railroad engineer. Guess what railroad? 

 

The Denver & Rio Grande Railway is the rail line of my recently published book Kate’s Railroad Chef, which is the third book in my Train Wreck in Jubilee Springs trilogy.  Please CLICK HERE for the book description and purchase link.

 

 

 

Sources:

“History of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad”, An Inventory of the Records of the Denver & Rio Grand Western Railroad. Collection Number 513; Denver, Colorado: 1996, pp 1-2.

https://www.american-rails.com/drgw.html

https://www.legendsofamerica.com/denver-rio-grande-western-railroad/

Wikipedia