ok guys so i asked for foundation years of UP and her heritage over in the UP forum and i came across a roadblock... the foundation year of DRGW here is a post someone made there the Rio Grande is going to be an issue, it was origionally the D&RG before it's bankruptcy, and there was a DIFFERENT railroad named the D&RGW in the 1880's, plus there was another D&RG in Utah... so i figured id ask here where the fans of the Grande are what is the official founding year of DRGW?
IF you really want to get technical, the Rio Grande was the Denver and Rio Grande until it went under, it reamerged in 1921 as the Denver and Rio Grande Western
kinda want a more reliable source... UP's site says 1871 they started building still not sure whats the foundation year
Originally the Moffat Line. To clarify they continued to operate the railroad... just under court rule as per bankruptcy laws of the time. Reemerging, simply meant they were either cleared of debts or were paying off debts as established by the courts ruling. Depending on how you look at this the D& (other initials) never did die but simply reorganized. To include a new name and/or a new court appointed administrative staff. It's an interesting history which merged, counter merged, renamed and re-invented itself, purchasing various short lines as they went along, to eventually become the historical railroad we know today. If you want specifics. There are is a ample supply of historical information available in books that can be purchased on the internet or (certainly more fun this way) by visiting various museums in and throughout Colorado.
ok but of the little companies that merged together what was the dominant one of them and what was its founding date? that seems like the best one to use
OK, here goes...The Denver and Rio Grande was founded in 1870, and was planed to run south to the Rio Grande River in Texas. In 1871, they ran their first passenger train to Colorado Springs, and back to Denver. In 1881, they merged with the Denver and Rio Grande Western, a road in Utah, and they kept the name Denver and Rio Grande. The USRA took control in 1918, and due to speculators using D&RG profits to fund the Western Pacific and USRA mis-management, in 1918 the D&RG fell into receivership after the bankruptcy of Western Pacific. The Rio Grande emerged as a new company, the Denver and Rio Grande Western in 1921. In 1931, the D&RGW acquired the Denver and Salt Lake Western Railroad, which never really existed to gain trackage rights to build a connection tothe Denver and Salt Lake Railroad. in 1935, it fell back into bankruptcy, emerging in 1947, and merged the D&SL into the D&RGW to gain control of The Moffat Road
