Statement of Significance Colorado & Northwestern Railroad Locomotive No. 30
Colorado & Northwestern Railroad Locomotive No. 30 (Locomotive No. 30) and its tender are representative of the history of transportation in Colorado. They are significant for their association with the expansion of railroads into the Rocky Mountains during the late nineteenth century and for being operated on the narrow gauge Switzerland Trail and other mountain railroads. 9 Locomotive No. 30 is significant under NRHP Criterion A in the area of Transportation for its association with transportation history in Boulder County. Locomotive No. 30 is the only surviving engine that operated on the Colorado and Northwestern Railroad–also known as the Switzerland Trail, a line that extended from Boulder to Eldora, Gold Hill, and Ward. The Switzerland Trail is the only narrow-gauge railroad in Boulder County. Colorado and Northwestern Railroad had an important role in the development of Boulder and Boulder County's mountain mining community. Locomotive No. 30 is also significant for its association with the Colorado & Southern Railway who owned and modified it and the Rio Grande Southern narrow-gauge railroads. Locomotive No. 30 is significant under NRHP Criterion C in the area of Engineering as a locomotive built by Brooks Locomotive Works of Dunkirk, New York. Brooks Locomotive Works built many steam engines for major railroads across the United States. Locomotive No. 30 was one of three similar locomotives delivered to the Colorado and Northwestern Railroad in 1898. The other two locomotives were sold to Cerro de Pasco Copper Corporation in Lima, Peru, and eventually scrapped. Locomotive No. 30's current appearance reflects the rebuilds and modifications undertaken by the various railroads it served. 10 Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Coach No. 280 Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Coach No. 280 (Coach No. 280) is significant under NRHP Criterion A in the area of Transportation for its association with the Denver & Rio Grande and Denver & Rio Grande Western railroads. Coach No. 280 remains as a physical reminder of the importance of narrow-gauge railroads in Colorado's development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Coach No. 280 is significant under NRHP Criterion C in the area of Engineering as a locomotive built by Jackson and Sharp of Wilmington, Delaware. It retains integrity of the design and construction methods associated with wooden passenger cars that served on Colorado's narrow-gauge railroad lines. It is one of only two intact Jackson and Sharp wooden passenger cars in Colorado that remained in service until their retirement. 11 Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad Caboose No. 04990 Caboose No. 04990 is significant under NRHP Criterion A in the area of Transportation for its association with the Denver & Rio Grande and Denver & Rio Grande Western railroads. Caboose No. 04990 was originally a boxcar built in 1880 and rebuilt into a caboose in 1919 by the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad. Caboose No. 04990 remains as a physical reminder of the importance of narrow gauge railroads in Colorado's development during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 12
9 Simmons, Scattered Resources , 2. 10 Betty Chronic, “Locomotive No. 30,” Colorado State Register of Historic Properties Nomination Form (Denver, CO: Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, 1998), 3-4. 11 Betty Chronic, “Coach No. 280,” Colorado State Register of Historic Properties Nomination Form (Denver, CO: Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, 1998), 3-4. 12 Betty Chronic, “Caboose No. 04990,” Colorado State Register of Historic Properties Nomination Form (Denver, CO: Colorado State Register of Historic Properties, 1998), 3.
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Railroad Resources
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