I may have been taught wrong, but I have always been told that the "then" pictures were closer to the natural state of trees in the west than what they are now. Mostly due to vigorous fire control practices throughout the 20th century. Historically, due to fires and droughts there were fewer trees than there are now. There are some very cool pictures in this thread though!
Couldn't figure out how to embed the historic picture, so it's a link. Sorry. <a href='http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15330coll22/id/52180'>D&RGW train (Narrow Gauge), engine number 476, engine type 2-8-2</a> And here is one I found on flickr taken in 2010: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/richdurnanphoto/5140296740/" title="Steam locomotive engine 482 getting ready for an early morningn departure from Silverton train station, The Silverton Durango Narrow Guage Railroad, Silverton, Colorado, USA by Richard Durnan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4047/5140296740_1c44004db8_b.jpg" width="650" height="431" alt="Steam locomotive engine 482 getting ready for an early morningn departure from Silverton train station, The Silverton Durango Narrow Guage Railroad, Silverton, Colorado, USA"></a>
un_swe.... Niiiiice. You then, you now, at the same place then, at the same place now. rtadlock... Here you go. Spent a weekend last summer in Silverton. Looks like the view is to the north...
For something diff... If you can hang in there until the last 40sec. of this 3:19 ride vid, there are "then" pics with the "now" video, pausing at the semi-ghost town of Eldora.... a boom and bust community from the flare and fade of productive mines... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aevZevqVJFs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Back when inmates were sentenced to "hard labor", the nearby residents at the Canon City State Prison constructed this amusement park like road called Skyline Drive. I found the photo above after taking the photo below. If ever in the Canon City area, ride this thing. The one way road with its blind rises will leave you with your stomach in your throat if you gas it a bit. Downtown Steamboat Springs 1945... Now if I could have climbed to the second floor of the store behind me I could have come a bit closer...
This is all I got on hand. High Falls Dam near Crivitz WI. Aprox 1908 .. Finished 1910 High Falls Dam 2011. And a bike shot.
Yeah, I've spent a lot of time in Silverton. Did a sweet hike into the Chicago Basin last year from that train. Tons of pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rtadlock/tags/chicagobasin/
The Chicago Basin... outstanding. Backpacked into there climbing Eolus, Windom, and Sunlight. Memorable with the weather and scenery. Also saw families of mountain goats as you did. Truly a magical place.
This thread is amazing and has inspired me to go find an old and a new this weekend so that I can contribute to such incredible pieces of history shown here! Standby for some history from Charleston,SC
Really enjoy this stuff. Great job on carefully matching the camera angles and frame of the shots! Impressive work. Reminds me of this book that featured then and now pix from Custer's expedition through the Black Hills.
OK, some more. Quite the scene in Idaho Springs at the turn of the last century as the ore teams prepared to head to the mines in the morning... Lunchtime is when the community nowadays oftens sees the most activity. If there was something to stand on other than a pick-up truck bumper, could have gotten higher... The Peck House in Empire (at the southern base of Berthoud Pass) is one of Colorado's oldest continuosly operating hotels... Much of the interior furniture came with the Peck family in 1862. Not much of an audience this day... Speaking of Berthoud Pass, almost 100 years ago, 1915... A gorgeous pass in more ways than one... Meeker's main street 90 years ago... Meeker, in NW Colorado is in the middle of fantastic riding, on and off road... Explorer John C. Fremont discovered the pass containing his name in the 1840's... That's 14,148 ft. Mt. Democrat in the distance guarding the SW corner of this broad and airy riding pass...
\ Anyway it's right click view image info and copy. Then paiste into the insert image info if you don't know.
My angels don't always line up because lot of the time I don't have a destination and end up finding the before pics once I get home. Plenty of riders have been by this spot Near Mosquito Pass
Great thread idea. I like to do "railroad archeology" on the bike. Here's one from this summer. Stickpile Tunnel on the Western Maryland, 1967: 2011: I explore this area at least once a year. Here's a web site chock full of then/now photos of the WM's lines through Maryland, PA and West Virginia: http://www.wmwestsub.com/main.htm
This is one of the best threads i have seen, you have to love the history we have and all that is to come,
I am loving this thread. Thank you all for posting and please keep it up. I've spent many hours doing family research in the Genealogical section of the Denver Public Library where I learned that my great-uncle was a sheriff in Elbert Co. in the late 1800's. I've been trying to recall the location of this building for months. Is it near Deckers?
Sod Buster, everyone, niiiiice. A few more strolls through past... A festive 1901 Labor Day in the thriving, mining community of Eldora... Well, with the mines less thriving, so is the now sem-ghost town of Eldora. What a contrast... Boy, when roads were created for autos around 1910-1920, there was a craze to go on group "drives". We can relate with our two wheeled things eh? This is Bear Creek Canyon west of Denver. How would you like to be going the opposite direction? At the mouth of Bear Creek Canyon then... Bear Creek Canyon now... When fires swept through communities back then, seriously, little could be done. Many towns saw flames pass through more than once. The Cripple Creek fire of 1896. Dang... Hey, let's start building more often with brick. Four years later in 1900... And 110 years later. I should actually be a few feet forward... About 60 years ago, the D&SP station house in Como was in a state of decay after the tracks over nearby Boreas Pass were pulled up. Things are coming around a bit, but things are also still a little slow and sleepy in Como (named by Italian miners who thought the area reminded them of home)... Nevadaville, about a mile SW above Central City, boasted in 1865 a population of 4,000... one of the most populous towns in the state at the time. The first big gold strike was nearby... The population today now hovers between 5 and 10...
By the time the third fire swept through the tightly packed, wooden structures of Buffalo Creek, fed up Mr. Green decided to rebuild with stones from the nearby quarry. The townsite was mostly to the left of the image. Just to right outside the frame of the picture one can see the old train trestle built with the same stones. Well I'll be, found an image of that trestle...