PROTOTYPE RAILROAD BOOK
Publisher: Pruett Publishing Company, Boulder, CO. Price: John C. Newell and P.R. "Bob" Griswold, Narrow Gauge East From Denver; The Colorado Eastern Railroad, 94 pages, 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 softbound, no list price.
JOHN C. NEWELL is a train engineer and an author. If you read the feature story of our December 1992/January 1993 issue, you may remember his description of being at the throttle of Union Pacific steam locomotive 844, an FEF-3 Northern. He and Bob Griswold have co-authored a very short book about a very short railroad, the 17 mile long Colorado & Eastern. It was the only 3 foot gauge line running east from Denver and existed primarily to haul coal.
I will refrain from ruining your enjoyment by telling you more about the little railroad's history. The book can do that. I will point out the book has a surprising number of photos, maps, and timetables to document such an obscure line. All are black-and-white, as you might expect in the case of a railroad operating between 1886 and 1915.
If you have been looking for a shortline as the basis for your model railroad, a road with only one locomotive (a pretty little 2-4-0) and very limited rolling stock, a prototype offering both freight and passenger service, and the kind of scenery you could realistically approximate in your backyard, you might benefit from reading Narrow Gauge East of Denver. The writing is clear, the illustrations comprehensive, and it is fun.-RR
