Wow!! I just came across this filmed video of the Colorado Midland! Did not know it existed. Mid 60s Morris Cafky wrote a book about the Colorado Midland, about 10# worth! My copy caused me to become a "fan-atic" of the CMRR. This lead to countless trips to locate and hike the abandoned trails of the Midland. I have started a recreation of the route over from Colorado City and over Hagerman Pass using computer software that replicates on a screen the track and scenery of the Midland. (Much less expensive than model railroading.) The films make more clearly the roadbed route through Colorado, providing good details. Thank you Mr. Wiatrowski for sharing this historical gold mine!

OUTSTANDING ! This is one of the very finest documentaries I've ever seen - and I've been involved in professional Indy films out of Hollywood California. Ten thumbs up!

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I created it and it was great fun doing so. Good to hear someone likes it since it was a huge amount of work.

@trainclaude

Жыл бұрын

@@eisenkopf69 Thank you, Peter. When I was creating this video, I lived in rural Colorado and could see the abandoned Colorado Midland grade from my house!

This is a wonderful video. I lived in Colorado Springs for many years and have hiked and driven to many of the areas discussed. Thank you so much for posting this Dr. Wiatrowski. It has motivated me to plan a trip there sometime soon and to do some sightseeing and exploring. Such activities are immeasurably more enjoyable with this excellent historic background.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your kind remarks.

I live on Lake George on Signalman Lane and just love the history of my home with the Midland RR playing a large part of it's history. Thank you for a great video.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

You are welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Born in Manitou in '37, lived on Midland Avenue, thus the Midland RR was in my backyard...Loved it!

@trainclaude

4 жыл бұрын

Thank you. It was a joy to produce.

Great video! I was stationed at Fort Carson in the mid 80's. Love the railroad & mining history.

@trainclaude

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. I very much enjoyed making it.

Brilliant use of music! Especially with the opening with Spring; perfect for capturing an epic mountain setting!

@trainclaude

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for your kind words about the music. Claude

Awesome history... Thank you !

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Your are welcome.

I lived in this area for 7 years ('95-'02). Very well presented. loved it.

@trainclaude

4 жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@xizang3815

3 жыл бұрын

You must have worked with a casino.

This is an incredible fascinating film. I thought the conversations/interviews of the former engineer near the latter part of the film was fascinating.

Great videos and pictures from the past ! Thanks! Well done!

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

You are welcome.

Very interesting and well made video. Thank you.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you.

The interview toward the end is the best part

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

I thought they were great. These crew members were on the last MT train, a clean up train in Feb of 1949 sent up to bring down any stray railroad cars left. Some of them once worked on the other two railroads to Cripple Creek. Lots of experience. The interviews were recorded with a wire recorder because tape recorders had not yet come into use in the United States.

Great video of the area I have visited so many times and wondered what the railroads must have been and looked like. This recording shows me many sites where I have been. I have not see it before nor other video clips of these lines especially Midland Terminal and Colorado Midland. Thanks for posting it. Interesting color shots with audio toward the end of the tape and many shots of Ute Pass where we used to vacation every summer and I drove with my eyes on the old abandoned railbed and the glorious tunnels. I never could get up there to hike the railbed.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Jim. I am the producer and I lived on Ute Pass for 20 years, first in the City of Woodland Park and then a few miles west of there in Woodland West. I could look out the window from my Woodland West house and see the Colorado Midland (later Midland Terminal) grade.

Absolutely fantastic. Thank you for posting.

@trainclaude

2 жыл бұрын

You are welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Wow! Very interesting! It saddens me that so much blood sweat and tears and dangerous work went into building the trestles, railbeds and tracks, and other super hard effort, only to be abandoned later. Make me think of the book of Ecclesiastes, where it says, " All is vanity,a nd a striving to catch the wind,"

great video .

If you don't like the first part of this video, skip over to time index 38:00 (Part IV) which is where historic motion pictures start. They are sprinkled in the video all the way to the end of the railroad including the scrapping trains. I don't want you to miss these motion pictures as they are incredible or at least I think so.

@robertboggs5414

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your reply sir! As a child, I went on a field trip to the Roundhouse which was still operating with the turntable, steam locomotives and my first opportunity to explore a caboose. Van Briggle Pottery had moved to the location sometime later. I have not been back to my hometown for several years since. These videos are priceless!

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

@@robertboggs5414 I am a little jealous since I am a fan of Colorado's historic railroads but I grew up in Chicago. Railroading in Chicago was big but did not have the drama and steam locos of railroading in Colorado. I moved out west in 1968, the very year that the D&RGW ran its last common carrier revenue freight from Alamosa to Durango. I just missed it.

@robertboggs5414

3 жыл бұрын

My dad came to Colorado in 1926…you can only imagine what he experienced…an amazing time to witness beautiful magical Colorado. A pleasure to visit with Mr. Wiatrowski !

Nice video and very informative! Thanks for sharing.

Very good! Love the history!

@trainclaude

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks.

I still find railroad spikes and bolts all over the old right of way near Hartsel and Antero. Still looking for the elusive glass telegraph insulators.

I’m a Springs native and these topics are among my favorite passions, however the background music is overpowering… I have shared this video with family and friends and everyone has enjoyed the content.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Glad you like the topic. I am also a Midland fan and spent a lot of house hiking the abandoned grade when I was a young man. We also get reviews about how good the music is. I suppose it is a matter of taste. It is not worth discussing since these videos were edited in the 1990s and the source material used is long gone. All that is on the DVD is a stereo track with stereo music. Thus, you can't remove or change the music without destroying all the other sound.

Thank You !!!

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

You are welcome.

Very much enjoyed the film and narration. Did notice that the movie clip from 5:58 to 6:08 was captured from a Spokane Portland & Seattle Ry train above the Snake River in Washington state. The second bridge the train is crossing is the Burr Canyon bridge and down at river level can be seen the Northern Pacific Ry tracks and an elevator which might have been owned by the Burrcan Elevator Co. This portion of Northern Pacific line was abandoned due to the construction of the Snake River Ice Harbor dam. The train is a westbound so the film is a view to the east. A little further east is the Lower Monumental dam another impediment to the old NP Clearwater Line. This portion of the old SP&S line between Pasco and Spokane WA was also abandoned in the 1987 by the Burlington Northern.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your expert analysis of the footage. Miles of train footage exists indexed by only words like "train" "tunnel" and "bridge." These are adequate keywords for television commercials but not for historical productions. Its too bad a way can't be found for knowledgeable people to provide more identifying information so the footage becomes useful in historical research.

@steadyrest7048

3 жыл бұрын

@@trainclaude Your welcome Claude, I have been very interested in history from a very early age. For years have thought a website devoted to identifying old photos and films would be beneficial to historians. The more eyes on a subject the chances for success would be enhanced and offer productive entertainment. Early film footage of railroads in this area of the Snake River is very rare due to its remote location. If you look on the Flickr site for the John W Barriger III railroad photo collection and navigate to the Spokane Portland & Seattle Ry album, there you will find a photo of the same view taken from a train passing over the Burr Canyon trestle.

The engineers don't wave from the trains anymore, not they did back in 1954.

Great video : pity there wasn’t some after photos of what the track way looks now or if some of the old depots remain. Andy from Australia.

@trainclaude

2 жыл бұрын

Glad you liked it. After I retired I decided to slowly post some of the best still photos I have taken. I have hiked much of the Colorado Midland grade and photos are posted on my Facebook page named "Tracking Claude's Trains." The earliest post is titled "Colorado Midland Rwy, Hagerman Tunnel East Portal." There are two more posts covering the area Manitou to Cripple Creek and Hartsel to Leadville. I intend to post one more group of photos sometime in the next few months, It will cover Hagerman Tunnel West Portal to Basalt. I also post photos of other railroads you might like. You might try this link to get to this page: facebook.com/Tracking-Claudes-Trains-105019301280081.

On your next video, I would suggest no background music. The rest of the video was very good, interesting, and informative. Thank you.

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you but there will be no next video. These were all produced in the 1990s and I am now retired.

any car buffs out there find pikes peak 0 to 14000 ft hill climb the car version of what the trains had to do to get over the great divide just a thought sorry train buffs im still with you. ray life long train fan from uk england.

Hi from Czech rep.

11:31 “Twelve dozen saloons” ? 12 x 12 = 144 saloons ... why not say ... "nearly one hundred and fifty saloons”..?

@trainclaude

3 жыл бұрын

Not that I remember since I produced this video over 30 years ago! These kinds of statements get much worse. I can't stand it when some news anchor states a volume as 8 Olympic-size swimming pools.

@LavaLahaie

3 жыл бұрын

@@trainclaude “you” were the producer of the train documentary…? Wow! Good work sir. Found it very interesting and informative… hope you’re well. Did not mean anything malice with my original comment … thought it was an odd way of expressing a number. :) all the best too you

@LavaLahaie

3 жыл бұрын

Indeed you are listed in the end credits !! Sweet !