Jack Odenbaugh

Perhaps this "Jack ODENBAUGH" is related to Peter and Christina ODENBAUGH?

The Rio Grande Southern Railroad twisted and turned its way over 162 miles of three foot gauge track between Ridgway and Durango in the south west of Colorado's San Juan mountains. It was constructed by Otto Mears to reach the rich mining districts of Telluride and Rico. To achieve this task it had to travel over two mountain passes using four percent grades. The line first opened for business in 1890. Jack ODENBAUGH, the master mechanic who built the Galloping Geese, and all the staff and crew who kept her running. Although Miller receives the lion's share of the credit for the development of the goose his amazingly resourceful mechanical department, Jack Odenbaugh in particular, and Superintendent Forest White also deserves a share of the credit.

Jack Odenbaugh
Chief Engineer, Galloping Goose Railroad

Guest goose; Zimmermann, Karl; Trains; ; ; Mar 01, 2000; 56;

Guest goose

Byline: Zimmermann, Karl
Volume: 60
Number: 3
ISSN: 00410934
Publication Date: 03-01-2000
Page: 56
Type: Periodical
Language: English

Reflections on the revival of the oddest

RARELY HAS THERE BEEN an icon so emblematic of a time, a place, and a railroad as Rio Grande Southern's Galloping Goose. Conceived and built by RGS in the Depression's early years with the carrier in receivership and staring at a bleak future, these motor cars were homemade, half-baked, and charismatic. They were also remarkably successful, breathing two additional decades of life into this frail and scenic southwestern Colorado narrow gauge by providing mail, package express, and passenger service at a fraction of the operating cost of steam.

Built 1931-36 at the RGS shops at Ridgway under the direction of the ingenious Jack Odenbaugh, the railroad's chief mechanic, the Geese-contrivances of which Rube Goldberg could be proudnumbered seven in all (although No. 1, which had an open, stave truck body, was scrapped after two years, apparently feeding parts to its successors). No. 2 was relatively small, and No. 6 a "freight Goose" with a flatbed body. The "standard" configuration-to the extent that anything about these critters could be called standardbelonged to Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 7, the articulated "big Geese." These employed PierceArrow limousine hoods, bodies, and (except for No. 7) engines, with large wood-framed, steel-sheathed "freight boxes" trailing behind to carry the mail and express that were the Geese's raison d'&re. In 1946, Wayne bus bodies replaced Nos. 3, 4, and 5's Pierce-Arrow originals, and war-surplus GM engines went under the hoods.

Throughout the 1930's and 1940's, Goose mileage typically outstripped steam-train mileage, and these silver-painted contraptions with the as-yet-informal moniker of "Galloping Goose" kept RGS afloat long enough to haul uranium for the Manhattan Project, and to tote diminishing quantities of livestock and ore. (The cars' nickname came from their waddling gait on uncertain rails, and/or the discordant, squawking honk of their air horns.) Over Lizard Head Pass they ran, both Geese and steam trains, across the Ophir trestles, up the branch to Telluride, through Trout Lake and Dolores.

But the knockout blow for this 163-mile railroad, marginal virtually from the time it opened in 1891, came in 1949 when the Post Office pulled the mail contract, leading to the suspension of Goose service. By this time, however, tourists had discovered the grandeur of the San Juan Mountains. To cater to this demand, the RGS cut window slots in the sides of the four big Geese's freight boxes, installed a concession counter to sell box lunches, and ran excursions in the summers of 1950 and '5 1. The Goose name was painted on the bus bodies, along with a nifty logo. In spite of this brave initiative, RGS embraced a fate half a century in the making and was shut down in 1952. With bodies and freight boxes stripped, some of the Geese helped lift rail as the line was scrapped.

All six of the Geese extant in 1952 have survived: three at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, one at Telluride, one at Knott's Berry Farm in California, plus No. 5. The latter was given to the Dolores (Colo.) Rotary Club and put on display in front of the depot, where it sat through four decades and more-deteriorating, as inoperative vehicles exposed to the elements always will. No doubt few of the RGS aficionados who stopped by to see No. 5 ever thought it would run again. A few around Dolores figured it might, though, and in 1987 they formed the Galloping Goose Historical Society. In February 1997, after 10 years of dreaming and planning, restoration began. The society decided that 5 would be returned to its circa 1951 appearance.

Its wooden frame hopelessly rotted, the freight box was rebuilt, reskinned, steam-cleaned, and repainted. New rattan seats were fitted to the old frames. The steel structure was repaired or replaced to FRA standards. Wheel bearings were machined and axles turned. Engine and radiator were rebuilt. An army of volunteers contributed thousands of hours of skilled labor. The general was Wayne Brown, currently the society's president, who led the project to completion in April 1998.

At the end of May 1998, No. 5 was trucked to Chama, N.Mex., for a week of excursions on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic. The outings ranged the length of the 64-mile line, its former Denver & Rio Grande route richly evocative of the RGS in topography and engineering. The Goose ran well, although fuel-pump problems cropped up. Frequent gasping stops forced Brown to prop open the wing-like Pierce-Arrow hood and minister to 42year-old machinery. In September, No. 5 paid a visit to the Durango & Silverton, and then returned to both C&TS and D&S in 1999.

On August 5, 1933, Goose No. 5 had flown for the first time. Construction costs totaled $2599; 45 years later, on May 30, 1998, it flew again. Restoration costs totaled $78,200, though those close to the project feel the real costs were three times that number. In any event, during the memorable week in June 1998 when the Goose was loose on the C&TS, running for the first time in nearly half a century; few aboard or at trackside doubted that it was worth every penny.

Illustrations/Photos: The Goose "gallops" between Osier and Los Mos on the UTS on June 5, 1998. Its Pierce-Arrow dashboard is visible in a view from the driver's seat. The chain drive was crude but reliable.