Berthoud Weekly Surveyor September 26, 2013 Page A5 The historical society and Mark French are interested in obtaining and copying old photos from Berthoud’s past. Please contact Mark at 532-2147 if you have any photos you would like to share.
A LOOK AT BERTHOUD
Railroad trestle along County Road 15 reveals its history T
he great flood of September 2013 destroyed the railroad trestle over the Little Thompson River. The original trestle that spanned the creek at that location was constructed in the fall of 1877 when the Colorado Central Railroad hired bridge builder J.A. Emrick to erect a 112-foot “pile bridge” over the stream. While Emrick’s crews were at work, a force of 500 laborers equipped with 275 teams of draft horses graded deep cuts for the railroad grade through the bluffs located north and south of the trestle. On Nov. 7, 1877, when the Longmont-Cheyenne Extension of the Colorado Central Railroad had been completed, the company’s first official train rumbled over the Little Thompson trestle on its way from Cheyenne to Longmont.
When the Colorado Central built its train trestle over the Little Thompson in 1877 the height of the embankment that was constructed to carry the railroad tracks across the river bottom was six to eight feet lower than the embankment that exists there today. Speculation regarding the height of the original embankment has long been the subject of debate, but that discussion ended last week when the flood’s water swept the modern trestle away and exposed a cross-section of the large embankment that contained a low earthen berm at its core. That berm was the rail bed for the original tracks of the Colorado Central. The cross section revealed that the original rail line across the Little Thompson river bottom was five or six feet above the existing ground level and was indeed much lower than the deep
cuts through the bluffs to the north and south. After the Colorado Central laid its tracks through the Little Thompson Valley in 1877, a small settlement Surveyor that railroad Columnist officials named Berthoud came to life on the ground west of the trestle. For a few years steam locomotives struggled to ascend the grade from the river bottom after they stopped in Berthoud. Mark That problem French was solved in the winter of 188384 when the town was moved from the river bottom to its present-day site. The discovery of the original rail bed confirmed the necessity of the relocation of the town for the convenience of the Colorado Central Railroad company. While J.A. Emrick’s crew took months to construct a trestle over the Little Thompson in 1877, the crews currently working there around the clock will complete a new trestle in a matter of weeks. The ties and timbers of the recently destroyed trestle have been scattered like matchsticks on the muddy river banks,
Photo by Mark French
Flood waters recently swept away the railroad trestle over Little Thompson River one mile south of Berthoud. The rushing waters cut a cross section from the tall embankment that carried the railroad tracks and revealed the original rail bed that was constructed in 1877. The old rail bed was several feet lower than the modern embankment. while heavy steel pilings and pre-fab concrete bridge supports are rapidly being put in place to create a modern structure the likes of which were unimaginable in 1877. It won’t be long before trains are rumbling over Little Thompson creek again. There’s been more than one person in
recent days who have said that it was a very good thing that the town was moved from the Little Thompson river bottom to its current site in the winter of 1883-84. The destruction of the trestle certainly lends credence to that opinion.
RAFT
Special to the Surveyor
WWW.BERTHOUDSURVEYOR.COM
Berthoud’s Rural Alternative for Transportation (RAFT) has a mission to help seniors (age 60+ years) and adults with medical conditions or disabilities which prevent them from driving, to maintain their independence by providing door-to-door transportation from the rural area of Berthoud’s Fire Protection District to connecting transportation systems (e.g., BATS, FLEX, MCR Connecting Health Van) and the towns of Berthoud, Loveland, Longmont and adjacent areas. The mission is an honorable one, but one that needs volunteer drivers to make it work. Volunteer drivers will provide rides for any legal purpose (medical and professional appointments, grocery shopping and social engagements) from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Although volunteers give their time, there are funds available through grants to reimburse drivers for mileage. Individuals who are interested in, or curious about, serving the Berthoud senior community as a volunteer driver is asked to contact the Berthoud Area Community Center at 532- 2730 and leave their name and contact information. Each registrant will be contacted personally, provided more detailed information and given the opportunity to ask questions about how the program works, and how they are reimbursed before officially volunteering.
Look at Loveland Reach 2,000 readers with your ad in the Berthoud Weekly Surveyor Look at Loveland advertising section that runs on the 1st and 3rd week of each month. Contact Diane at 970.532.2252 for information.