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Argentine Central Railway

How to use this map

This is a Google interactive map which I found on the internet. To use the map just click on one of the red (mines and tunnels) or green (trackside stops) pins and a side bar will advise the name of the point of interest.

The origins of the map are unknown and also it's author. However as the displayed notes are in German I presume so is the author. If he/she reads this page I would appreciate them getting in touch as this map shows mine names which I have not seen in any other literature and I would be interested in the source of this knowledge.

The Model Layout

Because the Shays, 2-6-0's and 2-8-0's that powered the Argentine Central and the Colorado & Southern (C&S) were too small to be converted to DCC the Argentine Central theme has been dropped and replaced with a C&S branch line from Golden to Ralston, CO.

This new branch line has been consolidated into Phase One of the Denver's RailRoads layout.

Argentine Central Railway — Tracks and Mines

The Argentine Central Railway was a 3 ft. (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad built from the Colorado and Southern Railway at Silver Plume, Colorado to Waldorf, Colorado and onward to the summit of Mount McClellan. Construction began on August 1, 1905 and the line was opened a year later on August 1, 1906.

It was financed and organised by Edward J. Wilcox, owner of 65 mining properties in the Argentine region that were consolidated into the Waldorf Mining and Milling Company in 1902. His headquarters at Waldorf was accessible only by pack mule for much of the year.  

The line went bankrupt in 1911 and was reorganised as the Argentine & Gray's Peak Railway. However the line was never profitable and notice to abandon was posted on October 24, 1918 and the tracks were removed by 1920. The model layout presumes that the railroad continued into the 1930's and together with the C&S upgraded to standard gauge, as the C&S did in fact do at Leadville, CO.