Downtown Durango is home to the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, which operates out of the original train depot built in 1882.
The railroad is a major tourist attraction for the area, drawing people from all over the world to ride a historic train through the scenic San Juan Mountains.
However, the railroad provides another service: restoration of historic train cars.
Harris Abernathy, the director of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, says there are other heritage railroads throughout the United States.
“However, very few of them, if any, have the capacity to do the work that we do,” he said.
“We have both the carshop to work on the rolling stock side of things as well as the roundhouse to work on the engine side of things. We provide a really unique service to the railroad industry as a whole by having these facilities and the crafts folks that know how to restore these heritage pieces to their authentic look.”
Abernathy said museums and heritage railroads from across Colorado and other states send their cars here for repairs.
One of the cars in the shop right now is Railroad Car 211. Originally built in 1881 as a narrow-gauge passenger car, it was converted to a combination car in 1900. These types of combination cars are uncommon as they usually transport either passengers or freight, not both.
The change in 211’s usage reflects the shift in Lake City’s economy. The area was on the decline due to the boom-and-bust cycle of mining.
The railcar operated on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad’s 36-mile branch from Sapinero to Lake City until 1933, when train service in the area ended. Today, it stands as a rare piece of Colorado’s transportation history.
Sean Jackson is one of the carpenters working to restore 211.
“The exterior of the car has all been resided with new wood,” Jackson said. “We’ve used about as much as the original material wood fabric of the car as possible that could be saved. We are standing in the car now, and you could see some of the old wood versus the new wood.”
After 211 was decommissioned, it sat idle for decades. Jackson said he saw it as a child.
“This car was purchased back in the 1960s and ended up on the Eastern Slope,” he said.
“It was going to be used on a museum-type railroad there. And I remember seeing it years ago as a kid, up on ties, up in the air, looking forlorn. No windows in it. Pretty much how it arrived here.”
At one point, the railcar was even a chicken coop.
In 2017, the Hinsdale County Historical Society bought the dilapidated railcar from a train buff in Monte Vista.
Then, a couple of years ago, it was transported from Lake City to Durango for restoration.
Historical Society President Grant Houston said the group is seeking donations and applying for grants to fund the final stages of repair.
“In the process, we’ve spent over $400,000 on this car to restore it to its former glory,” Houston said.
Back at the workshop in Durango, carpenter Sean Jackson said restoring historic train cars is more than a job. It’s a passion. Most employees at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad repair shop are train enthusiasts committed to historic preservation.
“For us, I think it's neat to go back and rebuild something as our brethren 100 years ago used to do it,” Jackson said. “Back in Alamosa, Salida, and Denver they were rebuilding cars like this in the 1920s exactly how these guys are doing it today.”
The goal is to have 211 back in Lake City by the fall or in the late spring of next year where it will be on display next to a historic narrow-gauge caboose.
However, before it leaves Durango, the plan is to operate it on a few runs to Silverton, meaning its days as a functional railroad car aren’t over yet.
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