Volume 9 , Issue 45

D&RGW's

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) -- Galloping Goose is the name given to a series of seven railcars built in the 1930s by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS) and operated until the end of service on the line in the early 1950s.

All the "geese" were built in the railroad's shops at Ridgeway, Colorado. The first was built in 1931 from the body of a Buick "Master Six" four-door sedan. It was more conventional in its construction than the later geese, though it had a two-axle truck in place of the front axle.

Part of the rear of the car was replaced by a truck stake-bed for carrying freight and mail; this was later enclosed and partially fitted with seating. It was used for two years to carry passengers, US Mail, and light freight before being scrapped. -- Galloping Goose - wikipedia

Rio Grande Southern "Galloping Goose"
"These pages are dedicated to photos and information about the unique rail vehicles built by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, called "Galloping Goose".

The Galloping Goose was a product of the Great Depression. The Geese were introduced by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad as a more economical means of transporting freight, mail and passengers. The Galloping Geese added an extra twenty years to the life of the railroad, but in 1952, the Rio Grande Southern abandoned its railroad forever. All but one of these vehicles survive today, although a wonderful reproduction of Motor #1 has been created by Kark Schaeffer, for the Ridgeay Railroad Museum." -- Galloping Goose

"The Galloping Goose (actually the plural should be 'Geese'), or Motors as they were officially called by the railroad, were for sure among the most original railroad vehicles ever built. They largely contributed to the fame of the Rio Grande Southern and were its most prominent symbol from the thirties until its closure in 1951.

These engines, built during the thirties, resulted from the absolute necessity for the Rio Grande Southern, then on the verge of bankruptcy, to cut its operating costs. They were meant to replace conventional steam trains becoming too expensive to operate, and were a kind of hybrid between a car or a bus riding on railroad tracks and a truck. They constituted single-car mixed trains, cheap to operate and able to carry a small amount of freight, mail and express, and the few remaining passengers travelling between Durango and Ridgway.

The Galloping Geese were built by the Rio Grande Southern shops in Ridgway, with very little means and a lot of ingenuity, from whatever material was available, spare car parts and other used parts. There are several hypothesis regarding the origin of the weird unofficial nickname (Galloping Goose) of the Motors. One of them claims that the name came from the waddling of the Geese on the uneven Rio Grande Southern track, another attributed the nickname to the goose-like honk of the horn of the Motors, very different from the usual whistle of steam engines. All the Geese have survived until now, except one (of which a replica has been built). Among the survivors, all but one are operational and are used occasionally on the loop track of the Colorado Railroad Museum, on the Cumbres & Toltec or on the Durango & Silverton. -- D&RGW Galloping Goose -- Galloping Goose Timeline
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