The Strange Story of PLCo #7

In March of 1884 tracks finally reached Overbite. Deforester Kelly had grade and ties to Overbite and only needed rails to complete his rail line. He got rail from the BYOB and started laying track. He had the BYOB shops building some log cars but now he needed an engine. He went to Denver and a man known as John Amway of Loco-nation, a dealer in used locomotives. John soon talked Kelly into buying a 4 year old 2-4-2T with the number 7 on it. For some reason all of John's engines had the number 7 on them, which was fine with Kelly, as he thought 7 was his lucky number. In any case #7 was soon on it's way to the PLCo via the BYOB.

Kelly not knowing anything about locomotives never asked any questions about his new engine, such as, "was it suitable for his railroad". Within a year, Kelly learned that #7 wasn't quite up to the high altitude above Overbite. It worked best bringing loaded cars downhill from Walledorf but had a hard time taking the empties back up. It was soon suggested that a new engine was needed. So Kelly went shopping again. Kelly again went to Loco-nation and John Amway. John  talked Kelly into buying another 2-4-2 but this time with a tender saying, "This is the best wheel arrangement for logging".

With two engines, now, the PLCo was doing well, by double heading, they could haul anything that needed hauling. Unfortunately, one engine or the other, was often broken down and with the increased demand for lumber, by 1886, the PLCo was in need of more motive power. This time, Kelly wised up and went to some locomotive builders, rather than Loco-nation. Kelly got a good deal on two new locos from the Climax Manufacturing Company. With the addition of the two new climaxi, old #7 was set out on a side track and forgotten.

Over the following years, #7 had some of it's usable parts stripped off but was mostly just left to rust. By the time tracks were taken up, in 1942 for the war, #7 had been so forgotten that no one even bothered to have it, or the track it sat on, hauled to Denver for scrap. The forest, that it used to haul, soon grew up around it.

Over the years there had been reports, from hunters and hikers of #7 still being there, where it was left. In 1980, this writer went in search of #7, to photograph it. To my dismay, I could not find it. Although I spent several days hiking, camping and searching the area, I could not find #7. I did, however, find the rusty old track it had sat on for so many years.

What had happened to #7? Had it just rusted away? Had it been dismantled by moon shiners to build a still? Was it now a stock tank on some cattleman's ranch? Or had something else happened? There are stories told around campfires, by people familiar with the area, about a bright light seen at night and the sound of a lonesome whistle. Could #7 still be hauling ghostly logs on a ghostly track? I don't know, but you can go camping up above present day Silver Plume and find out for yourself. IF YOU DARE.