Golden Spike ceremony on Rio Grande Southern near Rico.
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
First described as forty miles above Big Bend by wagon road, Rico was a destination in the early Silver San Juans boom.
Rico, of course, means "rich." In 1879, when Col. J.C. Haggerty discovered extremely rich silver ore there, they called the place Carbon City, Carbonville, Lead City, Dolores City and a few other cuss words. A meeting called to settle the issue resulted in William Weston's suggestion of the Spanish word for rich and the name stuck."It is 90 miles from Animas City or Durango by Big Bend, the only practical wagon road whereby Rico can be reached. There is a cut off via Bear Creek hill which may be traveled late in the spring, and thus some 20 miles of distance saved. There is a charted toll road from the Animas River to the Rio Dolores, known as Pinkerton or Scotch Creek trail, which when completed, will shorten the distance for wagons," said the Denver Tribune on February 15, 1881.
Rico had been incorporated in 1879 and was a thriving mining town until the Silver Crash in 1893. After the Crash, much of the population moved on — though some mining continued. The Rio Grand Southern railroad was a part of Rico's history from its arrival in 1891 until it was discontinued in 1954.
Friday, November 30, 1951:
In a dispatch from Hart Lee to Dolores Star (best of Hart's Stuff from Rico, 1968)
"Monday morning we went down to the depot to see the last train pull out for Ridgway. Old 461 hooked to the drag flanger and a couple of cabooses made up the train. The crew was J.C. Phillips, H. Walford, Jimmie Cooper and Alvin Talbert. The last train south will be sometime this week to pick up what empties that are in the yard, then after that — well the old girl died a natural death, so far as we know. The first transportation we had back 1869 was foot and horseback, then the bull teams and stage coaches. Then in 1881 we had old Puffen Jennie, not it's cars and trucks. Be a heck of a note if we finally get back to bull teams again, but it could happen."
Friday, December 7, 1951:
In another dispatch from Hart Lee to Dolores Star (best of Hart's Stuff from Rico, 1968).
"We've been talking about the last train going to leave the old burg for the last three weeks, well it happened last Thursday when old No. 20, coupled to thirty-three empties pulled out of the the yards at 12:10 p.m. for Dolores. The crew was Geo. McLean, Lee Lynton, Mike Smith, and Go. Thomas."
Despite difficult terrain, extreme weather conditions, and a trainload of financial difficulties, the Rio Grande Southern (RGS) Railroad operated 162 miles of track between Ridgway and Durango from legendary Otto Mear’s construction efforts, beginning in 1890, until they went into receivership again and started pulling up track in 1953.
The Railroad's headquarters and where the main facilities were in Ridgway, the Railroad traversed Northwest to Dallas Divide, on to the southwest heading down to Placerville. It turned south toward Telluride following the San Miguel River, to what was called Vance Junction (west of Telluride), where one of two coal topples were located. Then continued southeast, curving around up the side of Yellow Mountain to Ophir with the help of numerous, large trestle bridges then looped around to the southwest and continued up the side of Yellow Mountain to Trout lake, curving around it to the Summit of Lizard Head Pass. Then to the southeast, meeting the Dolores River and looping around into the town of Rico.
Rico was considered the center of the Railroad and had some notable engine facilities. From Rico, it followed the Dolores River west into the town of Dolores, where it then curved southeast into Lost Canyon. It followed Lost Creek, and eventually exited the canyon to make its way directly south into Mancos, it traversed east following the East Mancos Creek up Mancos Hill, and then down Cima Hill to Hesperus. Then it curved south, passing by Ute Junction, the second coal topple on the line. It then looped back around the east, near what was then Fort Lewis campus, after which it headed northeast into Wild Cat Canyon. In the canyon, it passed by the townsite of Porter and the site of the Porter Coal mine, making its way north to Franklin Junction. It then curved east and finally ended close to the San Juan Smelter in Durango, where it met up with the D&RGW's San Juan Extension.
The RGS finally threw in the towel and filed with the Interstate Commerce Comission for abandonment on April 24th, 1952, after 60 years of operation. The RGS had lost the contract to ship US mail after failing to clear snow to deliver during the winter of 1951-2. This contract was the very last profitable aspect of the RGS hence why it was the final straw after the railroad's history of financial trouble.
Rio Grande Southern Railroad yard at Rico (Colo.): looking south. Date/circa: 1952-05, Photographer: Chione, Alfred G. (Morton, Ill.) Notes: Mile Post 066.24. A closer view than photoprint P026119 looking down the rails toward the water tank and (on the right) the engine house
Rio Grande Southern Railroad depot and tank at Rico (Colo.): looking north, Date/circa: 1952-05
Photographer: Chione, Alfred G. (Morton, Ill.), Notes: Mile Post 066.24. A slightly more distant view than
Photographer: Chione, Alfred G. (Morton, Ill.), Notes: Mile Post 066.24.
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