Riding the RGS

In 1949 photographer Ted Collins made a trip to Colorado to see steam in action particularly the Rio Grande Southern which was in bad shape financially. This video begins with footage taken in Durango in either 1950 or 1951, as we ride Galloping Goose motor car #5. In 1949 there was a washout, and he could not start in Durango. The 1949 trip is intermingled starting in Rico, which was north of the washout in 1949. The 1949 trip was a scheduled daily trip on the Goose, but the second trip was the tourist version of the Goose which operated in the final year of Rio Grande operations. The Galloping Geese were constructed to provide some means of lower cost passenger and less than carload freight service as the money-strapped railroad tried to hang on in the final years of operation. In the video we will see most of the stations, as well as water tanks, breathtaking wooden trestles and loops, and pristine mountain and lakes in this remote portion of Colorado. There were some trackside scenes, mostly from the later trip, which really breaks up all the riding footage. In the 1949 trip we see mail and baggage being taken off the train at one location, and taken to the Post Office. In another scene the motorman hooks up the telegraphone connecting to the telegraph wire. This was at Dallas Divide as they waited in the siding for a southbound freight. This was steam powered with a mid-train helper. There is also some steam action at Ridgway in 1949 with Rio Grande 2-8-0 number 340 arriving, switching and leaving town with it’s freight train. All the important locations are scene, such as Delores, Rico, Ophir, Trout Lake, Water tanks, Vance Junction, and much more. There is even some footage of the later trip headed south on its return trip toward Durango, and features some runbys on some of the famous trestles. Informative narration, and scene locations keep you informed along the way. At the end are a few slides related to the Geese and some of the steam engines we see in the footage. The show is from 8mm silent movies, thus no train sounds exist. There is tasteful music and narration for this rare show.