Stories from the Midland is produced by Tommy Allen in Teller County, Colorado. It presents the history of Teller County and the surrounding areas, but will also reach out for the occasional story in greater Colorado. In Stories from the Midland, we'll cover history from the establishment of the Cripple Creek Gold District to historical events of present day.
Great video. I've heard of the shooting, but have never seen the details of what happened after. I first saw this hotel back in the late 1960s and early 70s. We'd ride our minibikes from the Waterton Canyon side. This was before Chatfield and Strontia Springs Dam. We'd have to cross two trestle bridges. It was a shortcut back then, now you have to go all the way around through Sedalia or Conifer.
...interesting dude but as a Canadian I am afraid I cannot wax so romantic about the feller as he died invading Upper Canada when, I believe, the magazine at Fort York (Toronto) mysteriously exploded in 1813. After sacking Toronto and burning it his compatriots then crossed Lake Ontario, fought the Battle of Fort George, took control on Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) held it and in December, 1813 they burned it to the ground leaving over 400 habitants standing out in the snow wondering "wtf do we do now?" This all led of course to the burning of Buffalo and onward south to the White House in revenge for the burning of several Canadian towns. So, yes, Pike was a cool dude but at a time of war he was likely just as ruthless as the rest of them.
Being a history nerd, I read that the U.S. troops turned the Canadians against them in the follow-on actions after the death of General Pike at the close of the Battle of York and beyond. I really appreciate you providing a Canadian point of view.
While this is a neat account, I do not understand how riding the train to the end saved lives, the engineer cannot steer the train, all he can do is hit the brakes.
Once I saw the distance between the blind curve and the wreck spot, I got it. There were only seconds to get the brakes applied. Once the fireman hit the valve to release the steam, he was done. But Billy Westall needed a little more time to get the brakes applied. He’d probably just had enough time to hit the brakes and check the boiler pressure when the engine hit the obstruction.
The driver (engineer) had responsibility for the running and safety of the train and its passengers - and good engineers took their responsibilities very seriously. Many men chose to put that responsibility for others in their care before their own safety, risking and giving their lives. A train weighing several hundred tons cannot stop on a sixpence (or dime). As the narrator says, Billy chose to apply the brakes and shut the regulator before hitting the obstruction, rather than jump. From the photograph, had he not done so the ensuing pile up, with the coaches over riding the wrecked engine could have seen many casualties. The cab on Billy's engine was largely filled with the firebox, leaving a fairly narrow space for the driver to move; sadly this fate befell a lot of US drivers. To quote one old time engineer on the C&O "You have to have a lot of faith to pull that throttle, when you can't see what's waiting round the next curve". RIP all the brave men who served the railroads, in every country. We owe them.
4:08 Narrow guage isn't only limited to 3ft guage, Narrow guage is defined by being narrower relative to the standard guage, 2ft guage is also Narrow guage.
I live in Rainbow Valley, and if your interested, I think I have found what I believe to be old log flumes in Putney Gulch. It is a good walk but if you are interested, I will fill you in.
