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| Denver Public Library |
Summit County Journal; Feb 21, 1899
Park Road in Ill Luck
The High-Line division of the Colorado & Southern railroad was practically tied up this week for a period of four days.
On this side of Como, snow drifts and ice did the knock-out act, to which might be added the calamity of a half dozen engines off the track at various points and several"gone dead" for want of coal and water.
In fact, this has been a disastrous week on the Park, commencing Sunday with the wreck of a freight coming down from Climax toward Robinson. The train was composed of fifteen cars and was too heavy for the engine to control it on the grade. It ran away and crashed into another locomotive near the bottom of the hill. Anderson's engine and the fifteen cars were derailed and piled in a tangled mass of splintered wood and twisted iron on the track.
And from that hour till Thursday morning one accident has followed another. Between Monday noon and Thursday morning no mail was received by or dispatched from the post offices between Como and Leadville.
Not alone on the High-Line was traffic tied up, but the Fairplay, Alma and Gunnison divisions were in like condition.
During Wednesday and Wednesday night the rotary plow succeeded in opening Boreas Pass, and on Thursday traffic was resumed, and now business is rolling on as usual; but the tie-up and various accidents cost a great many thousand dollars.
Perhaps as context I would like to point out that the C&S as a Company was less than 2 months old when this article was published and they had taken contol of the railroad only a little over 1 month earlier. The winter of '98/'99 was one of the worst on record up to that point and was particularly harsh. The following winter was not much better. Pretty tough going for the infant "Colorado Road". Makes you appreciate the Fabulous success of the Standard Gauge!
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