The San Luis Valley is an interesting little short line located in southern Colorado and overlooked by rail enthusiasts on their way to the narrow gauge railroads. The chapters include a discussion of the geography, history of ownership and the challenges of the future.
The Greeley Branch of the Union Pacific chapters include data such as mileages, some color pictures of Union Pacific steam, and some B&W images of depots.
The Arkansas Valley Railway was a branch of the Kansas Pacific Railroad and connected Kit Carson, Colorado with Las Animas, Colorado. This is a very lonely area on the high plains of eastern Colorado.
In this title are detailed three unusual "Colorado Railroads Without Mountains."
The 15-mile San Luis Central has faithfully served a rich agricultural district in the San Luis Valley for over a century, owning only three locomotives during its lifetime. Having outlived many more famous lines, its full history is presented here for the first time by John Gruber and John Ryan.
Union Pacific's Greeley branch tapped a rich sugar beet growing area, and its fortunes rose and fell along with the once important Colorado sugar industry. Historian Kenton Forrest gives a complete account of the railroad line and the area it served for many years.
The Arkansas Valley Railway is famous for being the first Colorado railroad abandonment. Author Robert W. McLeod provides a detailed history of the important role it played at the dawn of the railroad era in the West.
Contents:
About the Authors, pg. 4,
San Luis Central, pp. 5-88,
The San Luis Valley, The Sugar Beet Factory, The Railroad, The McLean Era, The Burkhardt Era, The Water Problem, Index.
Greeley East: The History of the Greeley Branch of the Union Pacific Railroad, pp. 89-138,
The Branch Lines History, Passenger Trains on the Greeley Branch, Historical Notes on the Greeley Branch, Abandonment of the Branch, What If?, People Along the Branch Line, Bibliography, Notes, Index.
Arkansas Valley Railway, pp. 139-201,
Thunder on the Prairie, Then a Whistle on the Wind, the Complete Story of the Life and Times of a Branch Line of the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
Bibliography and References, pp. 202-207,
Index, pp. 208-210.
Colorado Railroad Museum, hardbound, 220 pages, 11 x 8.5 x .75 in., extensive text, Color and B&W photography.
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