The 1965 Floods Denver, Colorado in Tales of the Jointed Track

I was 13 years of age, when this occurred. Eight years later, I was working in that area with the Santa Fe Railway, in engine service as a railroad fireman.

http://www.710knus.com/peterboyles/ THIS LINK WILL TAKE YOU TO KNUS 710.

http://www.westword.com/news/the-1965-flood-how-denvers-greatest-disaster-changed-the-city-6668119

If KNUS has updated the Hot Topic area the second link will take you there.

The host of this morning show did about 2 hours about the flood. There was a Denver historian that talked about the the flooding. They also posted an article from the Westword newspaper, which is a weekly publication. KNUS was given permission to post the article. So, I give full credit to Westword and KNUS, for this. I double checked the link and it does work. Scroll down to HOT TOPICS, and wait for the Black & White photo that says Denver’s Flood 1965. The photos change about every 10 seconds. Click on that photo and it will open up to the Westword article. Should an ad for Westword show, just click the X on the ad and you’ll be able to read the article.

The carnage started with a severe thunderstorm around the Palmer Divide. Not only did is cause major flooding on the north side. Colorado Springs to Dodge City, KS got it as well, when the Arkansas River overflowed as well. This on the south side of the Palmer Divide. This is too, was the area that I traversed for 32 of my 40 year railroad career.

Plum Creek, is right between the two main lines. Since these lines were separate railroads in the late 1880’s up an till WW1. They were mandated by the government to make the routes at a double track mainline. These two mains are anywhere from right next to each other or as great as 5 to 7 miles apart. Hence the “Joint-Line” and why Plum Creek was in the middle.

June 14 thru 16 1965 the old heads:

Several of the Engineers and Trainman I worked with, related the floods. Some were stranded on trains with nowhere to go. Some walked into Castle Rock or back to Palmer Lake. Some told me that they stayed with Farmers and Ranchers and helped them as they could. Many bridges were washed out. I believe, because they would have said something about it, if there were any deaths.

Larkspur was under water on the Northbound from MP 46.2 till MP 41. 7. Here the track starts up out of the riverbed and runs along the base of the buttes. Even today on the area, we call the reverse curves on the northbound MP 45.8 and going over the Rio Grande Trestle spanning Plum Creek at MP 43.4 you can still see some remains of the floods. The railroad shored up the banks of Plum Creek on the Rio Grande side with steel pilings driven in and a cribbing of wrecked automobiles and rock were placed in. This remains to this day.

Rice yard was underwater. The heavy silt remained, until they sold the yard to the City of Denver. Elitches and the Pepsi Center now reside there in the Platte valley. The only part of the railroad that remains is Main 1 and 2 and LODO Alley siding.

Frank Kasuslas told me, that they were surprised, when they finally were taken into Denver. I think they rode in on a Bus. He figured all the automobiles left at the roundhouse or at the yard office were destroyed. The Santa Fe and the C&S hired tow trucks, before the flood hit, and had all cars towed up and left on high ground in Highland and Jefferson Park areas. They were taken to their cars. The railroads bore the expense.

As a child, I remember some of the pictures in the Post and the Rocky Mountain News. Some rail cars in the Rio Grande Burhnam Yard and C&S Rice Yard, floated off their trucks. Many were found in lower down town, near the US Post Office terminal Annex building. and the Depot area.

Last updated May 11, 2015