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Photograph of Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 2
Photograph by Russell Lee, Public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 2

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

From the record

“Rio Grande Southern Railroad (RGS), Motor 2 is a gasoline engine-powered narrow gauge railroad motorcar. It was converted on August 12, 1931, from a 1927 Buick Master Six 4-door sedan in a conversion known as a Galloping Goose.”

Wikipedia article Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 2, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 83 National Register listings published here for Jefferson County · listed in 1997 · category: Structure.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 17155 W. 44th Ave., Golden, 80403
  • When was it listed? February 1997
  • Category. structure
  • Census division. Golden
  • National Register reference number. 97000049 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

598 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 598 fires within 5 miles of Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 2 between 2003 and 2020, burning about 1,821 acres in total. 13 started naturally. 8 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined481
Equipment and vehicle use28
Smoking27
Recreation and ceremony13
Natural13
Fireworks9
Arson/incendiarism8
Misuse of fire by a minor6
Debris and open burning5
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Power generation/transmission/distribution3
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWest Metro Fire RescueUNKNOWN
7 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acrePleasant View Fire DepartmentN/A
7 September 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGolden Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
6 September 2020Smokingunder an acreWest Metro Fire RescueN/A
6 September 2011Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State HeadquartersGOLDEN
4 September 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreGolden Fire DepartmentUNKNOWN
30 September 2019Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreColorado State Forest Service-State Headquartersnot named
30 September 2015Arson/incendiarismunder an acreWest Metro Fire RescueUNKNOWN

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 121 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 121 workings within 5 miles of Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 2: 59 producers, 40 occurrences, 14 past producers, 5 unknowns. 59 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Fire Clay (Refractory), Sand and Gravel, Construction, Uranium. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Alumet Pilot PlantAluminumUnknown
Aubrey-Ladwig MineUranium, CopperPast Producer1954, 1955, 1956
Buckman PropertyUranium, Copper, Lead, Molybdenum, Zinc, SilverOccurrenceVein
Centennial ConeBerylliumProducer
Cressman GulchBeryllium, Mica, FeldsparProducerBeryl, Feldspar, Muscovite
Cressmans Gulch ProspectFeldspar, Beryllium, Niobium (Columbium), Tantalum, MicaPast ProducerBeryl, Microcline, Muscovite
GrossoVanadium, UraniumProspect
Ladwig GroupUranium, Copper, Lead, ZincOccurrence1971
Ladwig-Grosso PegmatiteBeryllium, Mica, Feldspar, QuartzPast ProducerBeryl, Muscovite, Quartz
Mica Prospect, Nare RanchFeldspar, Mica, QuartzProducerFeldspar, Mica, Quartz

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this property

60 of 70 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Golden, the town this property stands in, in 70 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 53 hail, 7 flash flood, 6 lightning, 4 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
May 2007LightningGolden$200,000no account filed
September 2013Flash FloodGolden-Coal Creek went over its banks and washed out portions of CO72 at Twin Spruce. The highway was completely washed out between Plainview and Twin Spruce. Additional washouts occurred on side streets within Coal Creek Canyon. Many residents were ordered to remain in their homes (Shelter In Place) until rescue teams could reach them.
September 2013Flash FloodGolden-Flash flooding and debris was reportedly washed out a sections of CO72 at the base of Coal Creek Canyon. Road closures included: CO72 , from CO93 to Coal Creek Canyon; CO93, between CO72 and CO128; CO72, between CO93 and Indiana St.; U.S. 36, between Wadsworth Blvd and Flatirons; Interstate 70 west, from Floyd Hill to Hidden Valley due to rock slides. Natural Gas Lines in Coal Creek Canyon were also shut off.
September 2013Flash FloodGolden-Continuous heavy rainfall produced flash flooding. Additional road washouts occurred on side streets within Coal Creek Canyon. CO72 was completely washed out between Plainview and Twin Spruce.
September 2013Flash FloodGolden-Continuous moderate to heavy rainfall produced flash flooding.
September 2013Flash FloodGolden-Continuous heavy rainfall produced widespread flash flooding.
August 2010LightningGolden-A lightning strike sparked a small grass fire near Quaker Street and Golden Road. It was quickly extinguished by emergency responders.
July 2003Flash FloodGolden-Heavy rainfall caused flooding and flash flooding problems in north central Jefferson County. Officials were forced to briefly close State Highway 93, north of Golden, which was flooded by runoff and littered with debris. In Golden, flash floods left several backyards and basements full of standing water. At least one car was submerged in a garage. Radar estimated 1 to 1.5 inches of rain had fallen in the area in approximately 30 minutes.
August 2001LightningGolden-Lightning coupled with strong thunderstorm winds knocked out power to approximately 10,000 Excel Energy customers.
July 2000LightningGolden-Lightning sparked a grassfire that burned approximately 50 acres at the Rocky Flats Environmental Test Facility.
August 2000LightningGolden-Lightning sparked three small grassfires near Golden. The fires however, were quickly contained.
July 1997Flash FloodGolden-Heavy rain caused Lena Gulch to surge 2 feet over its banks. The fire department had to rescue a man when his van stalled in the highwaters.
April 1994HailGolden-Weather spotters reported dime-size hail fell at the intersection of Highways 287 and C470 in Jefferson County. Marble-size hail covered the ground near Golden (12 miles west of Denver), to a depth of one inch.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindGolden-no account filed
August 2021HailGolden-no account filed
August 2021HailGolden-no account filed
August 2020HailGolden-no account filed
August 2020HailGolden-no account filed
July 2019HailGolden-no account filed
May 2017HailGolden-no account filed
May 2017HailGolden-no account filed
May 2017HailGolden-no account filed
July 2016HailGolden-no account filed
May 2015HailGolden-no account filed
June 2015HailGolden-no account filed
July 2014HailGolden-no account filed
July 2014HailGolden-no account filed
August 2014HailGolden-no account filed
March 2014Thunderstorm WindGolden-no account filed
August 2011HailGolden-no account filed
June 2010HailGolden-no account filed
July 2010HailGolden-no account filed
July 2009HailGolden-no account filed
September 2009HailGolden-no account filed
September 2009HailGolden-no account filed
September 2009HailGolden-no account filed
May 2008HailGolden-no account filed
May 2007HailGolden-no account filed
July 2007HailGolden-no account filed
July 2007HailGolden-no account filed
May 2007HailGolden-no account filed
May 2007HailGolden-no account filed
July 2007HailGolden-no account filed
April 2006HailGolden-no account filed
April 2005HailGolden-no account filed
March 2005LightningGolden-no account filed
April 2005HailGolden-no account filed
April 2005HailGolden-no account filed
April 2005HailGolden-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindGolden-no account filed
June 2004HailGolden-no account filed
June 2004HailGolden-no account filed
June 2004HailGolden-no account filed
June 2004HailGolden-no account filed
June 2004HailGolden-no account filed
June 2003HailGolden-no account filed
August 2002HailGolden-no account filed
August 2002HailGolden-no account filed
August 2002HailGolden-no account filed
August 2002HailGolden-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Caboose No. 0578under 500 feet2003
Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 6under 500 feet1997
Rio Grande Southern Railroad, Motor No. 7under 500 feet1997
Rio Grande Southern Railroad Engine No. 20under 500 feet2000
Barnes-Peery House1.7 miles2001
Golden High School1.8 miles1997

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 97000049 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Jefferson CountyAll 83 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.