A hundred years ago, Colorado had over a thousand cars! Ford was even cranking out Model T’s at a building in Denver. Back in 1920, Colorado had 420 thousand plated vehicles to keep track of. It was big news that El Paso County would need ten thousand more tags in 1925 than in 1924.

The first plates were hand made by the car owner, usually out of wood, but later when the state started making them, metal was standard. The plates were often different sizes and shapes in the various states. The states did not standardize sizes, colors or even the name of the states on them until the late 1930s. The car builders actually forced that issue, but where and how many plates were to be on a vehicle took even longer. During World War II some states experimented with the first plastics … and it was a big failure! Some were found to dissolve in the rain, others were eaten by various animals and birds.

Railroad crossings in those days were not signaled, merely sign posts. The roads crossed tracks quite often. Driving from Larkspur to Colorado Springs, a car crossed over the tracks a dozen times! A trip to Denver crossed tracks forty times. The state finally issued rules for crossing tracks: Slow down when approaching a railroad crossing. Look both ways and listen to hear if a train was coming. Be extra careful if there is more than one track, because trains could be going in different directions on the tracks. Exercise good, conservative judgement at crossings, keep car under control and when in doubt stop before crossing tracks.

A lot of cars and wagons got hit by trains. Cars still get hit by trains. It is one of the worst kind of accidents you can be in. Even though there are gates, bells and lights people try to keep from stopping. A coal train traveling at 40 miles an hour takes more than a mile to stop. Each of those cars weighs more than the average house. An average coal train has more than a hundred cars. Also, how about those two-mile-long trains? We have several dangerous crossings in this area, please be careful!