Merry Christmas! | 0 Comments - Click Here :

Breckenridge Bulletin; Dec 26, 1907;
Christmas In The Mountains
  Christmas in Breckenridge was a most lovely sun-shiny day, and sleighing was superb. It was quiet in town, but from the amount of shopping previously done and the number of Christmas trees carried into homes, it was the liveliest and most joyful home day the town has ever seen. All the mines, mills and other industries took a day off, and all laboring men enjoyed the day. The stores all closed at noon.
  At the Methodist church Christmas eve a Sunday school entertainment and Christmas tree was enjoyed, which surpassed anything of the kind previously held at that church. The audience packed the building to its utmost, and every one present hugely enjoyed the program by the little folks, which consisted of songs, solos, duets, declamations, etc. The old folks took back seats and drank in the inspiration of youthful smiles and laughter, until it is more than probable that the majority of them that night dreamed of home and mother and Santa Clause. Each Sunday school scholar received a sack of sweetmeats from the tree, and went home brim full of a joy "that passeth understanding".
For Christmas.
  And New Year's holidays the Colorado & Southern will sell tickets to state points at one fare for the round trip. Tickets on sale December 24th, 25th, 31st and January 1st, good to return until January 3rd.

"Along The Blue" #6 | 3 Comments - Click Here :

Summit County Journal; Sep 3, 1904;
  Yesterday morning, at Gold Hill, a point midway between Dickey and Braddocks, west-bound freight train No. 81 ran into a bunch of Ben Rice's cattle, killing three head and injuring four others.

No photographic records exist. But the scene may 

have looked similar to this disturbing accident 

on the Pittsburgh, Shawmut & Northern.

Photo courtesy the Ma & Pa R.R.

What Once Was | 0 Comments - Click Here :

Enough said  ) :

"Along The Blue" #5 | 0 Comments - Click Here :

  I wish I had more to report on my layout progress. But I don't. So..... unlike many of the dormant blogs out there, I will continue to give ya'all something to read if you're interested:

Summit County Journal; Jun 12, 1915;
Section Men Were Held Up by a Footpad
  Last Friday afternoon about 3 o'clock, an unexpected visitor approached the three section men,
A. Johnson, A. Sanderlin and Chas. Storm while they were at work on the C.& S. track just below the road crossing near the Breckenridge cemetery.
  They caught sight of the highwayman coming toward them from a clump of trees about seventy-five feet away and at once perceived his intent, as he was masked and carried a revolver. They awaited his arrival as per orders and upon first request to fork over their hard earned cash, they unhesitatingly complied and handed over $92.00.
  Again, obedient to the outlaw they boarded a handcar and proceeded toward Dickey. At dredge No. 1 they alighted and phoned Sheriff Detwiler. The Tonopah auto took the sheriff to the holdup scene, where Johnson, the section foreman and party joined him. An effort was made to track the guilty party to a hiding place, but no footprints could be found beyond the cemetery gate.
  The section men were evidently considerably excited for their descriptions of the hold-up man are very indefinite. The man may have been a runt or a six-footer for all we know, there is no clue to his identity.
  Heath, the car inspector stationed at Dickey, offers the only feasible solution: The spirits of the criminally inclined return to earth in bodily form and continue their evil practices and escape without detection. As proof of this statement, Mr. Heath refers that this party came directly out of the cemetery and returned to the same place and hasn't been seen since.

Being unfamiliar with the term, I had to look up Footpad on Wikipedia:

A footpad is an archaic term for a robber or thief specializing in pedestrian victims. The term was used widely from the 16th century until the 19th century, but gradually fell out of common use. A footpad was considered a low criminal, as opposed to the mounted highwayman who in certain cases might gain fame as well as notoriety.     A modern word in place of footpad would be mugger. A mugger is a person who accosts another person while they are both on foot, and commits the crime of robbery. This often includes a violent nature resulting in injury to the victim.

"Along The Blue" #4 | 1 Comments - Click Here :

  These two slightly different articles about the same incident; while both gory and tragic, also gleam a little bit of information about the daily railroad operations at Dickey:

Breckenridge Bulletin; Feb 16, 1907;
TO ETERNITY IN A TWINKLING
  John B. Lasley was run over by the cars at Dickey Wednesday at about noon and instantly killed. Lasley was for two or three years car inspector at Dickey for the C.& S. road.
  On the day he came to such a sudden and untimely end he was engaged in freeing the switch track of some ice which had accumulated upon it. An extra freight train was switching around near him, and all at once while his back was turned toward the moving train and his attention directed to loosening a bolt in the rail, the engine and two cars came upon him. People nearby saw his danger and attempted to warn him, but he either did not hear them or failed to understand what they meant.
  The engineer and fireman, it seems, from the evidence they gave before the coroners jury, did not notice the unfortunate man. A car loaded with ties struck him and in an instant he was in eternity, his body a horribly mangled mass of flesh and bones. One arm and one leg were severed and practically every bone in his body was crushed, and his entrails and pieces of bones and flesh were strewn along the track for over two-hundred feet.
  Dr. Condon was immediately summoned, and at once secured a coroner's jury and they proceeded to the scene of the the accident and held an inquest, returning the verdict of death "as the result of an unavoidable accident". The facts brought out at the inquest were substantially the same as given above.
  Deceased was about 34 years old, a young man of good habits, industrious and honest. Not long since he was married to Miss Elsie Shea, at Dickey. He had been employed as car inspector there some two or three years.

Summit County Journal; Feb 16, 1907;
LASLEY MET HORRIBLE DEATH
  At 1 o'clock Wednesday afternoon, Coroner Condon was called by wire to Dickey to hold an inquest upon the remains of John Lasley, reported killed at that place. Dickey is a coal and water station on the Colorado and Southern, seven miles north of Breckenridge.
  The doctor hastily picked up a jury and left in a sleigh for the scene of the accident. Upon their arrival at Dickey a most horrible sight presented itself. The body of John Lasley was literally ground into an unsightly mass, only the head bore semblance of what was once a strong, healthy man.
  Lasley was in the employ of the railroad company, as hostler in the engine house. On the day above mentioned, a west bound extra freight stopped at Dickey to do a lot of moving and switching of freight cars. The train, in charge of Conductor Williams, was a double header. While the cars were being moved about on the several tracks and sidings, Mr. Lasley was around and on the right of way, and to pass away the time had been assisting the section hands in picking ice from between the rails.
  At about 12:30 o'clock, Lasley and the section foreman ceased work on the icy switches and started to walk down the main line track towards the depot, situate about one hundred yards away. The two men walked leisurly along, paying but slight attention to the shifting of cars.
  Just north of the water tank the trainmen made what is known as a "flying switch", the engine with several cars remaining on the main line and backing down toward the two men on the track. Seeing the pending danger the footmen were in, in continuing to walk the track, the fireman on the other engine, the station agent and others shouted to the men to jump off, but Lasley it seems, did not hear, and certainly did not heed the cry of danger or notice the rapidly approaching cars till hit by a car load of cross-ties. The section boss barely made a clear get-away.
  He was knocked down, run over, dragged and mangled. The coroner's jury returned a verdict of death in accordance with the above facts, but attached no blame upon anybody.
  Deceased was married and resided at Dickey with his wife, formerly a Breckenridge lady by the name of Sellia Shea. He was about 35 years of age. He leaves a young widow but no children. The remains will be sent to Grand Junction today for burial.

A Visit to Dickey | 6 Comments - Click Here :

  Sad but true; its the beginning of December and there is no snow in Colorado's high country. The recent drought we are under has lowered the level of Dillon reservoir enough to once again expose the site of Dickey. Since the construction of the reservoir in 1963, only one other time (effects from the 2002 drought) has this occurred. The previous re-surfacing of Dickey was documented in the official publication of the Denver, South Park and Pacific Historical Society (The Bogies and the Loop; numbers 44 & 48).

  I paid my first visit to Dickey this week. It was really more like visiting the surface of the moon or an atomic bomb blast site. Dickey is situated near the inlet of the Blue River, and the underwater currents have changed much of the contours of the landscape. It is very difficult to locate the grade. Much of the dirt and sediment having been washed away. But the foundations of all the structures can still be seen. And for those who do their homework, they can be identified. There are also plenty of artifacts scattered about to signify what was once a vital community.
  Hopefully soon, the snow will pile up across Colorado. I also hope to have the opportunity to pay another visit in the springtime, before the run-off which will submerge Dickey once again.

~ Cowboy Up! 

The pump house and cistern.

The section/eating house.

Some of the artifacts found and placed atop a water tank footing.

The grade towards Dillon and Keystone.

The grade towards Breckenridge.

Pine Beetles have reeked devastation upon the area tree population.

Sadly, the Blue River is all but dried up.

"Along The Blue" #3 | 2 Comments - Click Here :

A few stories about one of my favorite subjects; Jugheads:

Summit County Journal; Jun 18, 1904;
  On Saturday last, Pery Ault's team took fright at a passenger train at Dickey and ran away. Team and train left Dickey at the same time, the former beating the later into Dillon by two minutes. No damage was done.

Breckenridge Bulletin; Feb 28, 1913;
  While the driver who took Sheriff Thomas to Dickey Friday was in the section house getting warmed up, the team warmed themselves up by running away, but were stopped half way to Frisco without much damage having been done.

Summit County Journal; May 31, 1902;
  Strayed from the Braddock ranch along Blue River, sorrel horse, weight about 1050, branded BD on left shoulder, white star on forehead, bushy mane, quite a number of white spots on body. Last seen at Dickey station, May 23. Liberal reward for information or return of animal to Dode Potter, at dredges, Breckenridge.