[Denver and Rio Grande Railway]: [Palmer, William J.]:

$1,750 · Offered by William Reese Company · No longer available

FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE DENVER AND RIO GRANDE RAILWAY TO THE STOCKHOLDERS, APRIL 1st, 1873. A rare and detailed report from the infancy of what would become one of the West's largest railway companies. The Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG), headed by former Union General William Jackson Palmer, was founded in 1870, and the first tracks were laid the following year. The goal of the railroad was to find an efficient path through Colorado and across the Rockies and then southwest to a terminus at Los Angeles. The company expanded with considerable aggression and speed, and before long was the largest narrow-gauge railway network on the continent. This report touts the results in the year since the railroad reached Colorado Springs, the rapid growth in population in towns along the line, progress of their work, natural resources (including coal, stone, lime, and lumber), various connecting lines, and the goal of taking the railroad into Mexico, which greatly wanted for railroads at the time (the venture into Mexico would prove to be a disastrous waste of money and manpower). The appendix discusses the virtues of narrow gauge railroads, and there are also tonnage reports, a list of buildings owned by the railroad in various towns, brief descriptions of spur lines, and more. From 1877 to 1880, the Denver and Rio Grande was engaged in a railroad war with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (led by William Strong), in which both companies used p

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