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Buckskin Joe was built by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) director Malcolm F. Brown and used as a movie set
in 1957 by bringing together old buildings from around central Colorado,
and assembling them into an old western-style town.
Some movies that were filmed there were
Cat Balloe, True Grit, Silverado, and more. The final movie to be filmed at Buckskin Joe was “Catcus Creek”.
In 1958 the owners began admitting toursist between filmings, and developed the location into a western theme park. Don Tyner, who
served on the tourist committee of the Canon City Chamber of Commerce, built the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway, which is a 15 inch gauge
miniature railroad. The scenic railway opened to the public in 1957.
The Royal Gorge Scenic Railway orginally ran with a live steam locomotive (wheel arrangement of a 4-6-4, that was likely coal-fired)
and an F-unit, cow and calf with a 4 cylinder jeep engine. The orginal F unit is currently in operation at Tiny Town and Railroad in
Morrison Colorado. Engines #801, #802, #803, and #804 were built by Royal Gorge Fabricators in Canon City, Colorado. The Royal Gorge
Scenic Railway was a 3 mile, 30 minute, round trip with a “million dollar view” of the Royal Gorge Bridge.
In 1981 Greg and Judy Tabutaeu purchased the railroad and in 1985 they purchased the frontier town, Buckskin Joe. In 2010, they sold
the railway and Frontier town to billionare William Koch, who moved the ghost town to his private ranch near Gunnison, Colorado. The
Railway was leased for an additional two years and the last train ran on September 30th, 2012. In 2018, William Koch sold the Buckskin
Joe property to Ty Seufer. His plans are to turn the property into a luxary resort for mountain bikers and hikers with 250 miniature
homes on one acre parcels. He intends to use the old railroad bed as hiking and biking trails, so the trains became available seperately.
We had inquired about the property and trains in 2017. John Marietta, the realtor of the Buckskin Joe property, remember our passion for
the railroad and contacted us when they became available. On October 5, 2018 we purchased the Royal Gorge Scenic Railway which includes
all of the rolling stock, the four F-unit locomotives, the parts and tools to go with them, and the track itself. We have until December
31st, of this year, to have everything removed from the property, as Ty is already moving quickly to get the first set of tiny homes
available for purchase by the summer of 2019.