Little Buttes Station (aka "Rio Grande Buttes)
The Little Buttes station was a stop along William Jackson Palmer’s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG). It was constructed on Andrew Lincoln's property in 1872, and operated until 1918. It was used as a telegraph office, post office, and a stagecoach station. It's original milepost was at 93.4, but the mileposts were later adjusted and Little Buttes was at 93.1. The site was just north of the Fountain Creek bridge at the current Milepost 94. It is thought to be named for the many tepee buttes located in the area to the east and south. Structures at the site included the station, a station house, water tank and pump house, and several small support buildings. In the 1930's there was a short spur located at the house track known as the the Roby Spur that served as a cattle loading chute. Over time the name was reduced to "Buttes," known to railroaders as Rio Grande Buttes to differentiate it from ATSF's Santa Fe Buttes station located about a mile further south. A spur track still exists at the north end of the old siding, and the foundations for the depot, water tank, and pump house are still there. The stationboard frame still stands next to the tracks where the name can still be seen. In the accompanying diagram You will notice that in 1889 there was a connection track at Little Buttes with the Denver and New Orleans Railroad, which later became the Colorado and Southern.
On May 29, 1902 massive flooding on Fountain Creek destroyed the station's section house, and on On August 6, 1903 violent storms in the Fountain Valley caused a train wreck near the station with no loss of life. A Colorado Springs Gazette article dated August 11, 1904 describes this event:
On May 29, 1902 massive flooding on Fountain Creek destroyed the station's section house, and on On August 6, 1903 violent storms in the Fountain Valley caused a train wreck near the station with no loss of life. A Colorado Springs Gazette article dated August 11, 1904 describes this event:
"Last year a series of cloudbursts and downpours in the Fountain Valley crippled railroad traffic and tied the D&RG railroad up for 24 hours between here and Pueblo. At 4 o’clock in the morning the train was crossing the Fountain River at Little Buttes, when the trestle gave way and sent the locomotive into the water. For 15 minutes the engineer and fireman battled for life in the waters of the flood, and finally by clinging to pieces of wreckage reached dry land and safety. This washout was caused in a manner similar to that of last Sunday night, but only the engine went under and there was no loss of life. This same night a three-span bridge at Hardscrabble on the same road washed out. The Santa Fe reported water to a depth of five feet in many places along the tracks".
