I love ressirecting an old route. I started on this months ago, stopped, and finally got back on it. I call it the Clearfield and Lost Lake. Here's a couple "Work in progress" screenies.
one of the "Twin Sister Survivors" K-28 #472, backs down to the station at upper Kennebeckport, Colorado to pick up a private special that she will forward on the Clearfield and Later Lost lake. This narrow-gauge anachronism survived to move supplies to a Dam Powerhouse (similar to what the D&SNGRR had to do in the early years) and did some logging on the side. It's orginal power was ex-WP&Y USA-class (K-28) #253 and K-27 #453. later on it leased RGS 41 and Montezuma Lumber Co 271 to expidite lumber trains and to replace their ageing Shay. These were eventually purchased, along with K-36 #483, from the scrapper who was taking up the D&RGW. the two "Twin Sisters" were leased from the C&TS in exchange for the hulk of K-36 #485 and the components of Uintah Mallet 51 in 2003. The submarine behind her was tested in the lake by the US Navy in the 1970s and put on display in 1979.
Her train assembled, 472 speeds past State Highway 34 crossing and its ancient Wig-Wag signals.
The train passes the sawmill. don't let the smoke decieve you; this is sunday, and only one of the mill's three boilers is fired up, just enough to keep the machinery warm. all that lumber awaits the 41 to forward it to the docks at Lower Kennebeckport and the Lumber carrier SS
Dinnish. The line used to be much longer, and very much a common carrier. the large lake created by Rocky Dam #2 provided a beautiful backdrop for a pair of resorts on the lake's western shore. to provide equally elegant service to these resorts, their owner had the decomissioned interisland liner SS
Invercargill hauled overland in peices and re-assembled on the lake shore. Later, when the log company needed a way to get it's cut trees across the lake faster than their 1901-vintage tugboat, they did the same with the
Dinnish. later a steel mill in Lower K (long gone) built a pair of tramp steamers, SS Pacific and SS Waterloo. this same mill turned out twenty "Steam schooners" that still bounce around the lake carrying goods. today, the railroad that grew up hauling lumber, cattle, coal, manufactured goods and people down to the lake shore behind ex-D&RG 2-8-0s and 4-6-0s it trying to find where it fits in in this modern world. One of the Resorts burned in 1968 and the
Invercargill sank later that year. she was raised, of course (no small feat in itself) but the community has never been the same.