Tincup & Western Consolidation #21 returning from Gunnison with empties while moving north through Taylor Canyon near Almont in July 1907.

The rolling stock employed by the Tincup & Western consisted of a few 34 foot Overton coaches, combination and baggage cars, several 34 foot box, stock and flat cars. Cabooses were two axle, 21 foot bobbers. Several types and styles of gondolas were employed over the years. Initially, an upscaled version of the 24-inch gauge, wooden framed ore cars employed on the Gilpin Tramway in Blackhawk and Central City were built for the line. But these proved unacceptable for hauling the larger volumes necessary in the Tin Cup Mining District and were eventually replaced by the 30 foot, 17 ton type operated elsewhere by the D&RG. Regardless of design, all the gondolas served double duty with the Tincup & Western by hauling ore and concentrates from the mines and mills to the smelters, and returning with the coal supplies necessary to meet both the railroad's operating needs and those of the residents and mine/mill operators in Tin Cup. It wasn't uncommon to occasionally find D&RG rolling stock in Tincup & Western service.

Locomotive power proved to be less of a problem for Coupeau. Fortunately the Denver, South Park & Pacific had in its inventory several surplus 1868 Baldwin 4-4-0 American type locomotives. A ten-year lease for four of these locomotives was worked up. To free up the 4-4-0's exclusively for main-line service, four Baldwin 0-4-0 switchers were acquired in 1899. By 1904, the American's had grown tired, and maintenance was becoming a serious problem. Coupeau began a search for more powerful and reliable locomotives and, in 1904, purchased the first of four 1885 Baldwin 2-8-0 Consolidations from the Colorado & Southern. These locomotives had previously seen service with the DSP&P and the Denver, Leadville & Gunnison railroads (predecessors of the C&S). By 1906, Coupeau had taken delivery of the last of his "new" locomotives. But, before being placed in service, each was completely overhauled at the Rio Grande maintenance shops in Alamosa.

The Mines And Mills

An 1896 photograph of the Brunswick Mill, and it's associated out buildings, four miles south of Tin Cup. It began operations in 1889, and was modified in 1902 to accomodate the additional ore provided by the new strike at the Jimmy Mack and the establishment of the Blistered Horn Mine. Mine reports suggest that it may have been abandoned by 1914. Today, all that remains of the mill is the ore bin, the frame of the tram house (upper left),and the foundations of the mill structure itself and the out buildings. (The Colorado Historical Society, Denver, Colorado)

The Tincup & Western grew slowly in its first ten years, in large part because of the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 and the difficulties the region encountered as a result. The Tin Cup gold mines flourished, but only the larger silver mines survived, most prominantly the Jimmie Mack. For obvious reasons, the railroad proved only marginally profitable to its owner during this period. However, a second boom began in 1902 when a three foot seam of silver was discovered in the Jimmy Mack. The Brunswick Mining & Milling Company (the owners and operators of the Jimmy Mack Mine and the Brunswick Mill) decided to open up a tunnel at the base of West Gold Hill (slightly above and behind the mill's site) for the express purpose of aiding in dewatering the Jimmy Mack and in assisting in the removal of increased volumes of silver ore. However, shortly after the Brunswick Tunnel (later known as the Blistered Horn Mine) was begun, a two foot seam of silver was discovered. The result was two large silver producing mines feeding the Brunswick Mill.

New methods of processing raw ore were also introduced in Tin Cup at about the same time. Specifically, the process of soaking ores in a cyanide solution was brought to the area in the spring of 1905 when the West Gold Hill Mill opened about a mile north of the Brunswick Mill at the base of West Gold Hill. Three mines were associated with the West Gold Hill Mill, and connected to it with two aerial trams - the Golden Treasure, the Carbonate King, and the Iron Bonnet. Unfortunately, the mill only operated for about a year and was abandoned in March, 1906, supposedly because the owners and operators refused to treat the ores sufficiently to extract the silver. Still, Tin Cup's economy continued to grow, as did the demand for the precious metals. After 1910, however, mines began to close as both demands decreased and less ore was found. Still, the mines in the Tin Cup area proved to be among Colorado's primary sources of both gold and silver ore, Coupeau's share of which allowed all of the railroad's equipment and trackway to be well maintained.

Consolidation No. 24 crosses one of two small bridges over Willow Creek as it approaches the main line west of Hillerton on its way to Gunnison. The engine house and freight depot at Hillerton are visible in the background.

Coupeau became one of the wealthier men in the Tin Cup Mining District, although never to the same level as General Palmer or H.A.W Tabor of Leadville's famous Matchless Mine fame nor, for that matter, many of those involved in mining operations elsewhere in the district. His wealth was, in large part, attributed to his reputation for operating the railroad "on the cheap" (i.e., buying surplus locomotives and rolling stock). But he maintained until the end that his practice of purchasing surplus equipment from other roads at, essentially, scrap prices, was the only way a small railroad could turn any profit at all. And he was right. The expense of purchasing new rolling stock and locomotives, coupled with the costs of transporting the equipment from construction points, was something the Tincup & Western could ill afford given diminishing mining resources and the high cost of maintaining equipment, the roadbed and track in a region frequently ravaged by severe winter weather and spring run-off. Coupeau's longstanding relationship with General Palmer also worked in his favor, easing some of the burdens required of building large maintenance facilities and hiring workers to man such facilities. The small yard at Hillerton offered only rolling stock storage a small freight depot and an engine house (with attached repair sheds) only large enough to perform light work on the locomotives and rolling stock.