Denver and Rio Grande Railroad: Difference between revisions

[[Image:Denver and Rio Grande RR in Royal Gorge.jpg|right|File:Denver and Rio Grande RR in Royal Gorge.jpg]] The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad&nbsp;operated from 1870 to 1988 and was principally a transcontinental bridge between Denver and Salt Lake City, and also extended into New Mexico. The rail line carried much of the coal and minerals of the region. In 1988 as part of a purchase, it merged with the Southern Pacific. Today, most former D and RGW main lines are owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railroad. <ref>Wikipedia contributors, "Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad" in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denver_and_Rio_Grande_Western_Railroad (accessed 11 February 2014).</ref>

The principal repository for the records of the D and RGW is [[Colorado Historical Society|History Colorado]], formerly called the Colorado Historical Society. Other repositories that have some records about this rail line are the Utah State Historical Society, the Pikes Peak library, Colorado College, and Fort Lewis College. <ref>Hansen, Holly T, compiler. The Directory of North American Railroads, Associations, Societies, Archives, Libraries, and Museums, and Their Collections.Croydon, Utah; HT Holly Research Services: 1999.</ref><br>  

The manuscript collection, MSS 513, is probably the most substantial at about 195 linear feet in size. The finding aid for this collection is available on their website at http://www.historycolorado.org/researchers/manuscript-finding-aids. This finding aid describes the contents of the collection folder by folder. The majority of the collection is financial and legal records, but it also includes some personnel information, promotion, and other types of materials. The personnel records do not include records for each year, and several of the rosters will only list agents, bosses, and supervisors rather than a full roster of all employees. <ref name="email">email from reference librarian at History Colorado, received January 30, 2014.</ref><br>  

History Colorado has some plat maps attributed to the railroad, but this is not comprehensive collection of settlements near D and RG depots. To find these maps, search the library catalog, online at http://www.historycolorado.org/researchers/library-catalog. To cut right to the D and RG maps, try a Subject search for the term "Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company--Maps." There may also be maps included within the manuscript collection, and those will be noted on the manuscript finding aid. <ref name="email" /><br>  

History Colorado has some plat maps attributed to the railroad, but this is not a comprehensive collection of settlements near D and RG depots. To find these maps, search the library catalog, online at http://www.historycolorado.org/researchers/library-catalog. To go directly to the D and RG maps, try a Subject search for the term "Denver and Rio Grande Railway Company--Maps." There may also be maps included within the manuscript collection, and those will be noted on the manuscript finding aid. <ref name="email" />