[15][16] The engines, which were coal-burners, originally had diamond stacks (to catch the coal cinders), a wooden pilot, and a sand dome that was a bit more ornate (see accompanying photos).
The passenger cars have been modified slightly over the years, but they largely retain their original appearance, except for the paint scheme.
[21] "Galloping Goose" motor rail buses kept the Rio Grande Southern Railroad viable from the 1930s by carrying mail.
Knott purchased the RGS Motor #3, which is run on the GT&C during the off-season – when ridership is too insufficient to justify hostling a steam locomotive.
The Galloping Goose was constructed from a Pierce-Arrow limousine frame, engine, radiator, cowling and body with a four-wheel truck at the front and putting flanged wheels on the rear axle.
A RGS shop-built freight box (converted with trolley seats for passenger service in 1950) articulates on the kingpin over the chain driven center truck.
103 parlor car Chama which was converted at Knott's in 1954 to combination baggage/coach Calico with arrows simulating an Indian attack embedded near the baggage door.
Nowadays the Silverton has been converted to revenue service as a chair coach, and the caboose serves to embark bandits while in motion.
The Business car B-20 Edna (formerly San Juan) was built for use by the Rio Grande Southern president Otto Mears on sidings and spurs as a portable office and temporary home while making track orders.
These were deluxe temporary accommodations compared to a caboose, but it was far less opulent than private varnish of its day, which pales by comparison to the amenities offered aboard today's motor homes and recreational vehicles such as a shower or microwave oven.
Grand Opening of the Ghost Town & Calico Railway in 1952.
GT&C 41, restored to its 1940s appearance (with a straight stack, boiler-tube pilot and plain sand dome).
GT&C engine #340 (GT&C 340 was originally D&RG 400) as it appeared in the late 1800s (with a diamond stack, wooden pilot, box headlight and more elaborate sand dome). It probably had decorative trim on both the sand dome and the steam dome originally.
This photo of a Rio Grande Southern business-car train in the 1800s shows what the Ghost Town & Calico engines looked like in the 1800s (e.g., diamond stack, wooden pilot, box headlight, and trim on the sand dome and steam dome). The business car next to the engine is the "Rico," which is now at the
Colorado Railroad Museum
. The other business car appears to be the "Edna," which is now at Knott's Berry Farm.
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Class 70 (C-19) Engines (numbers 400-411) as they were configured in the 1800s. Both of the Ghost Town & Calico RR engines are Class 70 (C-19) engines.
These cars on the
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
are painted in the Passenger Car Red color that the GT&C cars had when they were originally built in the 1800s.
These cars on the GT&C today are painted in the Pullman Green color scheme of the 1940s.
The GT&C business car
Edna
was originally the traveling office and living quarters of Otto Mears, the first president of the
Rio Grande Southern Railroad
, who named it the
San Juan
in 1890. However, three years later, the RGS went into receivership in the silver panic of 1893.
Edward Turner Jeffery
, the president of the
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
(which held a large block of RGS bonds) became the receiver, and later president of the RGS. In 1899, the car was named for his daughter, Edna.
[
23
]
Jeffery served as president of the D&RG, the RGS, and later, the
Western Pacific Railroad
concurrently. The
Edna
is one of only a small handful of narrow-gauge business cars in the United States still in existence.
