"Ted's Place was built in a grassy field at the intersection of what was then two dusty roads - one leading north to Wyoming and one leading West to the Rockies."

    In May of 1922 - the first day of fishing season - Ted Herring and his older brother, Cameraon, opened the filling station and general store, affectionately called "Ted's Place". The small store did a thriving business from the sale of groceries to the convicts building the first road through the Poudre Canyon. Along with gasoline and supplies for travelers, Ted also stocked tires (since a trip up the Poudre Canyon almost always resulted in one or two flat tires).

    Ted Herring served several terms in both the Colorado House of Representatives and Senate, and some say he used his influence to get Ted's Place on the Colorado map.

     Inside, the rustic atmosphere of pinewood paneling and a moss-rock fireplace hummed with the sound of the juke box and friendly conversation. During Christmas, Ted played Santa. His wife, Nellie, would cook up a feat and decorate the store with a huge Christmas tree loaded with presents. In the 1930's, when the road up the canyon was paved, the original store was moved and converted into a house. A new two-story building with an Alpine appearance took its place, but the friendly atmosphere never changed. The store remained in Ted's family until 1962.

    After 70 years as a landmark to the gateway of the Poudre Canyon, Ted's Place was razed in 1989.

What is ribbon rail? It is a length of rail, about a thousand feet long, that is created from shorter lengths that are welded together. Below are the original, shorter lengths.

The classic clickity-clack sound is disappearing. That noise happens where the rail car wheels travel over a joint between two segments of bolted together rail. With longer sections of solid rail the joints are fewer. Adding to that, when rail is installed, joints are often welded together instead of bolted together - no more clickity-clack.

Lengths of rail are brought in and unloaded from the low, yellow supply cars (right).

The rails at the bottom of the photo are on a feed "table". This supply will feed to the left and pass through a series of buildings as sections are welded together to achieve the 1000 foot ribbon length.