Today’s Post by Joe Farace
The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train. —Robert Lowell
Galloping Goose is the popular name that was given to a series of seven railcars that were built upon the chassis of full-sized automobiles.These unique and compact locomotives were built during the 1930s by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad and were operated until end of service on the line in the early 1950s.
Originally running full-size steam locomotives on narrow gauge railways, the struggling Rio Grande Southern developed the first of the “geese” as a way to maintain its contract to deliver the US Mail into towns in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. At the time, there was not enough income from passenger or cargo service to justify continuing running an expensive steam train locomotive at the then-current levels but the powers-that-be thought running a downsized railway could return the railroad to profitability.
The company decided that the workload could be divided this way: Steam trains would transport heavy cargo and peak passenger loads but the motorized Galloping Goose would handle lighter loads. The geese were not only less expensive to operate, but were significantly lighter, reducing impact on the rails and roadbeds. This cost saving meant that the first Goose was paid off and making a profit within three weeks after going into service. The Rio Grande Southern built more Geese, and operated them until the company abandoned their right-of-way in 1952. You can see several of these unique locomotives and even take a ride on one of them at the Colorado Railroad Museum.
How I made this photograph: This Galloping Goose (above) was photographed on National Train Day, during a PhotoWalk I sponsored at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. I photographed this Galloping Goose (center) and it’s more modern siblings using an Olympus OM-D EM-10 Mark I and 9mm f/8 Olympus fish-eye —now branded OM System—body cap lens with an Av exposure of 1/1000 at f/8 and ISO 400. You cna read more about this unique and inexpensive lens here.
National Train Day was May 10 but ff there is any interest from readers, I would like to hold another train related PhotoWalk at the Colorado Railroad Museum during 2025. If you’re interested in attending this kind of event, please click on the Contact tab and let me know.
- Colorado Railroad Museum
- 17155 W. 44th Avenue,
- Golden, CO 80403
- 303-279-4591
- Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday (closed Mondays)
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