Forks Creek

By Grant Knowles

The Colorado Central Railroad plunged into the rockies by heading due west out of Denver and following the Clear Creek up stream. This was a torturous route since the canyon was very narrow (with steep walls) and the river was winding and fast flowing.
In 1872 the CCRR reached the fork where the north and south forks of the Clear Creek merged. Here the RR built a wye, water tower, pump house, restaurant and station. This was quite an accomplishment since the river consumed over 90% of the valley floor.

I have attempted to recreate as much of this scene as possible though I have taken some liberty in the "timing" of the structures. For example, though I am modeling the C&S in 1935, I have kept the earlier timber bridge though it was long gone by 1890's as it's appearance is very unique. I also resisted the expansion on the restaurant and station for the same reason. All structures are accurate representations of the prototypes at specific times.

The Scene

The Prototype

This drawingmade from blueprints of the 1920's, illustrates the tight confines Forks Creek was built in and the general layout of the railroad facilities.
Map copy right Harry Brunk.
Forks Creek, in Jefferson County, Colorado, was but a small cluster of buildings, situated at the confluence of the north and south forks of Clear Creek. Built to serve the rail traffic that went to either Georgetown/Idaho Springs, or Black Hawk/Central City, this view shows the water tower, the coal shed, and the service building.
Two passenger trains of the Colorado Central Railroad, Engine No. 12 and a Porter engine, are stopped on the tracks in front of the station at Forks Creek in Clear Creek County, Colorado. A group of people, including several conductors, stands on the platform in front of the lunch room with a sign "Refreshments." Suitcases and rocks with graffiti are near the tracks; Clear Creek, a water tank, and wood bridge are in the background.
View west from the Forks Creek eating house and depot, Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado; shows Colorado and Southern Railway's narrow gauge tracks leading to iron bridge and water tower seen at distant edge of depot; Forks Creek was junction of North and South Clear Creek and wye to Black Hawk and Idaho Springs; three men, one possibly a railroad or telegraph employee, stand by depot; Coors beer and refreshment sign hang on depot.

The Model Layout

Forks Creek is located on the layout where is blossoms out from the 2 ft 6 in depth to 4 ft 6 in to accommodate the main line as it loops back onto itself.
Here is an early construction photo of the scene. The roadbed is in along with the major structures. The back drop is painted and installed before the scenery is added.
This view is looking down stream towards Forks Creek by the south branch. The scenery is starting to take shape.
Compare this view with the one below of the finished scene.


Over head view showing the truss bridge, section house on the left and the water tank and pump house towards the rear.

Compare this view with the earlier one above.

The No.8 Engineer takes a few moments to chat with the ladies at Forks Cree.

View of Forks Creek looking down streem. Blackhawks appears above the rock cliff behind Forks Creek.

The Station

The Prototype


A man with his arms crossed stands near the ticket office of the Colorado Central railroad in Forks Creek (Jefferson County), Colorado. A Western Union Telegraph Office sign hangs from the outer wall of the building which has two stories and vertical board and batten siding.

The Model

This is a model of the station is was built largely as specified in the 'The Structure Company' kit. I currently have a station at the Forks Creek location on my HOn3 RR, but have been less than satisfied with it since it is only a rough approximation of the real thing. It will now be replaced with this accurate model. The walls are strip wood that are complimented with plastic and metal detail parts. The roof is removable and the structure is lit.



The Eating House

The Prototype

This restaurant was located to the right of the Forks Creek Station on the Colorado & Southern railroad. Over the years this building grew in size until it and the station became one. This HO model represents the Forks Creek Eating House of the 1880's.

The Model

To scratch build this model, I used the plans that appeared in the Jan 1980 issue of the Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette along with photographs from 'The Mineral Belt' book. The model is comprised of Kappler board and batten siding, Grandt Line windows and doors and Builders In Scale roofing material. The 'Refreshments' sign is prototypical and was made using Corel software. Of course the building is lighted!


The Eating House is located adjacent to the Station which was ideal for the passenger as they waited for the next leg of their journey.

The Eating House over hangs the retaining walls beside the river.


A visiting DSP&P Mason Bogie makes a stop at Forks Creek.


The Pump House & Water Tower

The Prototype

Forks Creek was equiped with both a water tank and coal platform to service the engines after their long climb up from Denver. The water was drawn out of the cistern that was located beside the river. A small steam powered pump inside the shed was used to replemish the water tank.

The Model

I kitbashed my water tank from a Durango Press kit. By all standards, this was a small tank that included a water spout that swung sideways as well as up to provide adequate clearance for the passing trains.

The Pump House was scratch built from plans that appeared in the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.


View of the water tank from across the stream.

Notice how the water spout has swung sideways to clear the trains.

The cistern is located in the back left corner of the pump house.

A lone worker shovels coal into the bin adjacent to the pump house.

The north branch of the railroad disappears above the water tank on its way to Idaho Springs. On the protoype, this branch actually leads to Blackhawk.

The water tank sported a flat roof throughout its life.

The Section House

The Model


The First Forks Creek Bridge

The Prototype

The Colorado Central Railroad joined in the mining rush of the late 1800's with the construction of a narrow gauge railroad up the Clear Creek valley due west of Denver, Col.
After progressing 28 miles up the torturous, twisting grade, the CCRR established the stop of Forks Creek where the split into the North and South forks. In the tight walls of the canyon, the railroad managed to assemble a station, eating house, water tank & pump house plus a wye for turning trains. Also at this point the railroad crossed the creek over this timber bridge.
The most unique feature of this bridge is that it is a Post Timber Truss which was not very common. The bridge appears to have lasted for no more than 10 years before being replaced with a much stronger pin truss bridge.

Stereographic view of a passenger train of the Colorado Central Railroad about to cross the original wood bridge at Forks Creek coming from Idaho Springs in Clear Creek County, Colorado. The track at the right follows North Clear Creek to Blackhawk in Gilpin County. A large water tank stands near the track in the right background. A rocky hillside is in the distance.

The Model

My quest to build a model of this unique bridge first involved some detailed research as there were no known drawings for the prototype. Over time, additional photographs of the bridge from various angles appeared which facilitated estimation of the basic dimensions. Further pleas on the newsgroups produced the plasn for another Post Beam bridge in the US. With this material in hand, it was then possible to build an accurate version of the bridge.

My HOn3 Model is made from Kappler scale lumber, brass wire and various detail castings.

Of all my scratch built models, this one remains my favourite due to the research that was required and the uniqueness of the design.






Skewed Bridge


This steel link pin bridge appears onthe mail line just down stream from Forks Creek. Notice the bridge is skewed to fit across the Clear Creek as it weaves through the valley. The model is based on a Harry Brunk article that appeared in the Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.

Miscellaneous






This Web page is written and maintained by Grant Knowles.
This page was last updated on January 2005.

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