REMEMBERANCES OF DELBERT K. "D.K." SPENCER

Scouting was incorporated on February 8, 1910, having been brought to America by publisher William D. Boyce of Chicago, after being helped to find an London address on a very foggy day by an English Boy Scout as a Good Turn, not accepting a tip for his service. Boyce was so impressed, he asked the boy to lead him to the nearby office of the founder of English Scouting, Lord Baden Powell, who provided Boyce with start up material in America.

The lure of Scouting from the very beginning was being a part of the exploration of the wilderness areas, and the love of hiking and camping, was a strong part of the mystique. Every camping trip brought a deeper knowledge of the intricacies of the outdoor life, and higher knowledge for their badges of advancement.

Most camping is done by smaller groups of boys in their local patrols or troops, but every four years a National Jamboree occurs.

A National Jamboree is a special encampment of American Boy Scouts, Explorers and leaders nation wide that usually happens every four years. A World Jamboree is a gathering of Boy Scouts and Explorers from all nations, also usually happening every four years somewhere in the world, but they overlap resulting in a jamboree somewhere every two years.

The First World Jamboree began in 1920 in England with 301 American boys present. World Jamborees have continued ever since, but not always on the four year schedule. The First National Jamboree was planned for August 1935, but a nation wide infantile paralysis (polio) epidemic caused the event to be canceled. Two years later, it was held on June 30, 1937 and 27,232 Scouts and leaders camped in Washington D.C. on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial in Potomac Park and on Columbia Island.

It was such a success that another was hoped for in four years, but World War 2 caused another delay, with the Second National Jamboree of 47,000 Scouts, Explorers, and leaders to be in 1950 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Successive jamborees were held in 1953 (45,0000) on the Irvine Ranch in southern California, and again at Valley Forge in 1957 (52,000). In 1960, to celebrate the Golden Anniversary of Scouting in America, the fifth was held at Colorado Springs CO., in the shadow of Pikes Peak.

A Boy Scout council is made up of various cities and counties from a certain geographical area. For instance, Colorado has five councils, each from a certain area of the state. Denver Council is the metro Denver area. Longs Peak Council is the Ft. Collins area; Pikes Peak Council at Colorado Springs; Rocky Mountain Council from Pueblo; and Western Colorado Council encompassing all the area west of the Continental Divide.

Each council recruits Scouts (11 through 13) and Explorers (14 through 18) from all parts of the council into a Jamboree troop, complete with a Scoutmaster and assistants, about a year before the event.

They meet several times prior to the Jamboree to get acquainted, plan their route of travel, establish a Jamboree fee, and review the necessary equipment for the camp. This also gives Scouts a year to earn the funds needed for their trip.

Travel to a Jamboree can be varied, but in 1960 the railroad passenger service was the most used, so each of the three railroads that served Colorado Springs was utilized to the fullest. These were the

Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Ry (AT&SF);

Colorado and Southern RR (C&S)

(subsidiary of CB&Q RR)

Denver and Rio Grande Western RR, (DRGW).

As with most large passenger movements, the logistics were very involved. Kenneth A. Wells, of the Scouts, was the Director of Jamboree Transportation by rail.

Inbound movements were on July 19, 20, 21, and outbound movements on July 29, 30, 31. Train consists were baggage cars; chair cars and/or Pullman (some of which were in chair car service); diners; Army kitchen cars; lounges, and dormitories. Since Scouts came from all over the nation, the rail cars were of many ownerships.

In regular passenger trains, the dormitory car was used for diner and lounge car crews on the long haul runs, such as Chicago to Los Angeles. Unknown if used for Scouts or train crews on these trains, but several trains had diners.

INBOUND

DATE ROAD TRAINS PEOPLE RAIL CARS

July 19 ATSF 9 3790 132

July 20 ATSF 2 870 27

July 21 ATSF 3 1382 29

July 19 C&S 9 4981 143

July 20 C&S 13 5838 194

July 21 C&S 11 5382 156

July 19 DRGW 5 2330 77

July 20 DRGW 6 2825 92

GRAND TOTALS 61 28621 883

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

OUTBOUND:

DATE ROAD TRAINS PEOPLE RAIL CARS

July 29 AT&SF 10 4010 132

July 30 AT&SF 1 480 13

July 31 ATSF 5 1985 69

July 29 C&S 13 7775 231

July 30 C&S 6 2489 96

July 31 C&S 11 4989 171

July 29 DRGW 4 2488 75

July 30 DRGW 7 3070 98

GRAND TOTALS 58 27768 897

Apparently 853 Scouts and leaders arranged other transportation back home, possibly by bus, or with visiting families.

The AT&SF and DRGW both maintained separate passenger depots in Colorado Springs. The influx of this extra traffic to a busy yard full of freight equipment posed a logistical problem, that required co-ordination between the various lines. Inbound equipment had to be stored waiting for the outbound movement eleven days later.

ASSIGNMENT OF SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL

COLORADO DIVISION - PUEBLO & DENVER DISTRICTS

July 17 1960

NAME AREA

C. T. Harzog - Pikeview

V. P. Chance - Pikeview

D. R. Warren - C&S Yard, Colorado Springs

Roy Yowell (C&S) - C&S Yard, Colorado Springs

J. A. Carrier - Platform Colorado Springs

Tom Linn - Platform Colorado Springs

H. C. Pumphrey - Platform Colorado Springs

L. P. Heath - Operators Office, Colorado Springs

J. K. Hastings - Operators Office, Colorado Springs

W. M. Orr - Colorado Springs

C. R. Hall (Spl TT) - Colorado Springs

L. N. Peterson - Colorado Springs

Paul Collins - Dispatcher’s Office, Pueblo

J. R. Fitzgerald - La Junta

D. A. Jackson - La Junta

N. P. Neff - La Junta

J. T. Fritchman - La Junta

H. C. Jackson - Colorado Springs - Denver

J. D. Gilpin - Colorado Springs - Denver

R. L. Hawkins - La Junta - Colorado Springs

L. R. Brooks - La Junta - Colorado Springs

S. Johnson - La Junta - Colorado Springs

R. G. Shaw - La Junta - Colorado Springs

C. J. Eastman - Dodge City - La Junta

Tom Keltor - Dodge City - La Junta

Finally, as this is written in 2002, many of the railroads that existed in 1960 have merged with others, or have gone out of business. Using the routing records of 1960, I will list the roads alphabetically that participated in this jamboree movement for posterity.

AT&SF - Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe Ry.

B&O - Baltimore & Ohio RR.

CN - Canadian National Ry.

C&O - Chesapeake & Ohio Ry.

CBQ - Chicago Burlington and Quincy RR.

C&EI - Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR.

C&S - Colorado Southern Ry. (subsidiary of CBQ)

DRGW - Denver & Rio Grande Western RR.

ERIE - Erie RR.

FRISCO - St. Louis- San Francisco Ry.

FWD - Ft. Worth and Denver Ry

(subsidiary of CB&Q)

(originally FWDC - Ft Worth and Denver City)

GTW - Grand Trunk Western Ry.

GN - Great Northern Ry.

IC - Illinois Central RR.

KCS - Kansas City Southern Ry.

L&N - Louisville & Nashville RR.

MILW - Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific RR.

MP - Missouri Pacific RR.

NYC - New York Central RR.

NH - New York, New Haven & Hartford RR.

NKP - Nickel Plate Road (subsidiary of N&W)

N&W - Norfolk & Western Ry.

NP - Northern Pacific Ry.

PRR - Penn Central Transportation Co.

SOU - Southern Ry.

SP - Southern Pacific Transportation Co.

SPS - Spokane, Portland, & Seattle Ry

UP - Union Pacific RR.

WAB - Wabash RR.

WP - Western Pacific RR.

If there are any friends on the Net, contact me at dspencer@bresnan.net

This page of the history was written by D.K. Spencer, Rocky Ford, Colorado.