Thursday, July 25, 2013

Colorado Part 3


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A Black-tailed Prairie Dog greets us with a bit of curiosity as we enter the Wildlife Refuge.

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These little rodents are skittish and disappear underground in a flash.


Sunday p.m. -- City Park Jazz  We got to the park early so we could get a good spot to watch the concert and to soak up the atmosphere as the band tuned up and the crowd started to assemble.

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 Bicycle policemen keep an eye on things during the concerts.  Their presence was low key and they weren't noticed by the concert goers. 

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Cell phone photographers are everywhere.

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If you didn't want to sit on the grass with everyone else you could always rent a pedal boat for an hour or so and enjoy the music out on the water.

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Chess is just one of the many things that concert goers enjoy while listening to the music.

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One of Biker Jim's food carts that can be seen throughout Denver at various events. If you are in Denver you may want to stop in to his restaurant on Larimer Street. We've enjoyed Wild Boar, Alaska Reindeer, Elk Jalapeno Cheddar, Southwest Buffalo and Peasant Gourmet dogs.


The Concert -- During June and July a group of volunteers organizes Sunday City Park Jazz On this day, Ron Miles Quartet was to play with the Denver Municipal Band. Unfortunately Mr. Miles is the only member of the band that I can identify. I normally wait until after a concert to talk with the artists and on this particular night the concert got rained out after intermission.


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Ron Miles

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There are no tents or grills allowed in the area surrounding the front of the stage, which sits on the edge of the lake.  It is very obvious that most of the attendees come well prepared to enjoy their evening with food and beverages and a few even have their own rolling papers.  We were in Colorado, after all.

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Monday -- We were off to re-visit the Colorado Train Museum outside of Golden, Colorado.

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For several days I had been looking to get a few shots of the rail lines operating in the Denver area.  It took a trip to the Colorado Train Museum before I got part of what I was looking for -- this Burlington Northern and Sante Fe 5340 D9-44CW. 

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Both engines on the BNSF were General Electric D9-44CW.

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Colorado and Northwestern 2-8-0 steam engine.  The 2-8-0 means that the engine has 2 wheels on the very front, 8 wheels under the body and no wheels under the cab.

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Rio Grande Number 5771 is an F9A unit built by EMD in September of 1955. 

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This engine, known as a Shay 3 truck was once used by the West Side Lumber Company to haul lumber out of the mountains.  It was also owned by GIRX Georgetown Loop Railroad.

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Colorado Museum's 5 bay engine house and round table.

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Original GB and L -- Georgetown Breckenridge and Leadbille.
General Electric U6B engine was one of 9 U units that were introduced in early 1956.  It had a top speed of 55 mph.

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Before coming to the Colorado Railroad Museum engine #14 which is also a Shay 3 truck engine belonged to the Argentine Central Railroad.  The engines were built by the Lima Locomotive Company, of Lima, Ohio.

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One of the many pieces of rolling stock owned by the Museum is this Burlington Route boxcar.  The markings on the side indicate the length, width, height and cubic feet capacity of the boxcar and it was built in March of 1942.

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The sign attached to the narrow gauge rail at the Museum speaks for itself.

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Originally owned by Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad this 4-8-4 steam engine number 5629 was built in 1940 in the Burlington Railroad's own shops.  Used until the 1960s it is only one of four left. 

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The last photograph this week shows two more of the Burlington Northern Sante Fe engines, Numbers 1600 and 1925 are both EMD built SD40-2s.  They are working a siding at the Coors Brewing facility at Golden, CO.

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