From: dgp0764@mcnews.mcdata.com (David Pitts)
Subject: re: Great Western Railway in Colorado
Organization: McData Corporation
Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1992 19:21:38 GMT

>
>I have a few questions about the Great Western Railroad (the part in 
>Colorado).  
>
>1. How long has this been in existence?  Obviously it is an offshoot of the
>BN but did it acquire its lines through the disposition of BN lines after
>the BN merger in the early '70's?
>

The Great Western Railway was started in 1901 to provide sugar beets to the 
Great Western Sugar factory in Loveland, CO and grew to connect other factories
in other towns. It was directly owned by the sugar company but was run as a
common carrier.  It was never owned or operated by the BN. It does interchange
with the BN at Loveland, Longmont and Windsor. It also interchanges with the UP
at Kelum and Milliken. When the sugar company went bankrupt the railroad was
spun off as a separate company to fend for itself. It is now owned by the Broe 
Company of Denver. 

>
>2. Is their paint scheme similar to BN's for any particular reason (i.e. is
>it partially controlled by BN)?
>

The scheme was chosen for its simplicity. The GWR is NOT controlled in any 
way by the BN.

>
>3. Why is there a rabbit on the short hood?  Is this something like the state
>bird of Colorado? :)             
>

The Jackrabbit is not the state bird. But is a commonly seen animal on the
plains of eastern Colorado. (However, as you near the former nuke power plant
at St. Vrain they mutate into Jackalopes :-) Anyway, a former president of GWR
liked the Jackrabbits and made up a logo to symbolize "Fast Freight". With a
change in administration "He rode out of town on the rabbit". Newly repainted
units do not have the rabbit logo.

>
>4. What happened to all of the sugar beet cars they used to have and why did
>the sugar beet business crash so bad?
>

They were sold for scrap. The sugar business went sour because the Bunker Hunt
brothers (Remember they tried to corner the Silver market) tried to corner the
domestic sugar business and failed. Foreign sugar, being government subsidised,
could under cut US sugar makers. Also, the Colorado GW sugar factories were old
and very expensive to operate. The storage silos at the factories in Loveland,
Longmont and Eaton are still in use. It is cheaper to bring the sugar down from
Idaho and Montana, where they have more modern factories, for storage than to
build new silos up there.

>
>5. Finally, how did they get a hold of the rights to serve the Coors brewery
>in Golden?  I can't imagine that BN would give up the rights to a company
>that ships about 90% of its product by rail!
>

They don't have switching rights at the Coors brewery. The units are leased to
Coors on an as needed basis. The BN does not switch the Coors brewery either,
the switching is down by Coors employees. The Coors brewery has over twenty
miles of track in the brewery complex and their own railroad. The brewery
products are interchanged to the BN just west of the Colorado Railroad 
Museum, stay on 44th street and you will cross the tracks between the BN
Golden yards and the Coors interchange yard.

>
>6. Oh, yeah.  One last question.  Anyone know the motive power roster of the 
>GW?
>

The roster changes quite a bit with units being bought, rebuilt in the Loveland
shops and then sold or leased, like to Coors as stated above. Some of the
units rebuilt and sold are now at the Ventura County Railroad in CA and the
Texas Southern and Gulf (I think that was their name, the units are painted
in a Red, White & Blue Lone Star scheme, VERY TEXAN). 

>
>Thanks,
>Paul Larsen
>larsenp@mace.cc.purdue.edu
>

Dave Pitts
pitts@mcdata.com
303-460-4161