Seems like the Florence & Cripple Creek started with leased power from the D&RG all built before 1882. Perhaps there weren't any gear locomotives to lease? They then purchased new consolidateds from Baldwin, then later a few ten wheelers for passenger service from Schenectady. Just skimming through, of course, I cannot find anything in any reference I can lay hands on that says why they choose those types of locomotives.
"Cripple Creek Railroads" Leland Fritz
"A history of the Florence & Cripple Creek and Golden Circle Railroads" Wilkins
Somewhere I have two more but can't find them McClellan's "A Colorado Shortline" and can't even remember the author of "The Gold Belt Line"
According to "Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad" by Allan Lewis the helper district was from Cramer to Alta Vista. The helper engines also worked the Vesta Branch, and "rounded up empties at Florence and Cyanide". Looking at maps that was about 23 miles of helper.
Below is one of the schedules I found in same book. So my theory doesn't hold and at least from a pure schedule perspective I believe if they ran the loco full throttle and it could reach and sustain near max speed, one of the large 3 or 4 truck shay type of geared locomotive could have worked in the helper district. Oh you know *&@&^$#^what...! I just realized I calculated the speeds on the downhill side of the schedule. Looks like it is taking 19 minutes longer through the helpler in the uphill direction. That would make the argument better for the geared loco.
I still think over all the geared locomotives would have been more practical on the tens of Colorado railroads that were actually specifically for mining rather than the common carriers. for example the F&CC would not had to swap locos at the beginning and end of the helper district. I am thinking of things like the Otto Mear's lines Silverton Railroad, Silverton Northern, and Silverton Gladstone and Northerly Railroad. The whole topic does make one wonder if these railroads even considered other types of locos than what they were accustomed to from their known history. Maybe these locos were just too "new fangled" technology at the time??!?
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