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| Chama Depot - Built 1899 - Restored by The Friends of The Cumbres and Toltec |
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| Fin, Olivia and Joe |
Last night G and I took the time to view, for the first
time, a comedy-drama called, “The Station Agent”. The story revolved around three people who
were essentially abandoned and managed to form a relationship through trial and
error. The lead acting of Peter
Drinklage, “Fin” in the movie and you would recognize him from Game of Thrones,
was extraordinary. The other two leads
were Patricia Clarkson and Boby Cannaval, both did an exceptional job.
Fin worked in a hobby shop repairing model trains. His co-worker, and business owner, dies and the
business is closed and sold leaving Fin abandoned. However, in his will the owner leaves an
abandoned railroad depot to Fin. The story
takes off from there and I encourage you to see the short sweet film.
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| Depot at Newfoundland, New Jersey |
The object of this post is the abandoned railroad depot
inherited by Fin. It is everything you
would expect, a cute little “Railroad Victorian” along the tracks with creaking
doors and a dusty interior cluttered with railroad furnishings. The structure is symbolic of the three
characters in the story as they, like the depot, are all abandoned in their own
way. This symbolism is furthered by the depots
cracked and patched and boarded windows with flaking white paint.
The film got it exactly right as railroads routinely board
the windows and paint abandoned buildings white. This identifies them for train crews and
indicates the eventual removal of the structure by demolition.
In a previous post I noted the various colors of buildings
on the Cumbres and Toltec. In the
various pictures was a boxcar red structure, several gold structures with brown
trim and a historic site filled with white buildings. These buildings are painted the same color as
found when the States of Colorado and New Mexico purchased the 65 miles of
track between Antonito and Chama in 1970.
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| Sublette, NM Section House |
The structures in Sublette, NM
(Mile Post 306), a National
Historic Site, are all painted white indicating they had been abandoned
by the
Denver and Rio Grande Railroad at some point shortly before the D&RG
abandoned the line. The windows are boarded-up with whimsical curtains
and children and pets looking out. The family of the section foreman
lived in the section house and their children took the train to Antonito
for school. Orders for food and necessities were given to passing
train crews and they brought back the items on the next train across.
There is also living quarters for the maintenance crews plus locomotive
watering and coal bins. Sublette also has an explosives bunker sunk
into the side of a hill immediately west of the buildings. This bunker
dispensed all the explosives necessary to construct the railroad in
1880.
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| Osier Section House |
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| Osier Dining Hall |
In Osier (Mile Post 318), a National Historic Site, we see
boxcar red structures and one large gold structure with brown trim. The large gold structure is “new” being by
the railroad within the last 10 years or so to serve as a dining room for the
passengers. The remaining structures are
the original buildings at Osier which are all painted the color when
constructed in 1880.
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| Cumbres Section House |
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| Car Inspector's house |
Cumbres (Mile Post
330), a National Historic Site, has gold buildings with brown trim. Cumbres was a required stop to allow the “car
inspector” to check the brakes when coming-off or starting the descent of the
4% grade. As
with both Sublette and
Osier, a wide variety of buildings still exist at Cumbres. At this
point you may have noted a striking similarity between the three section
houses. This is due to the railroad using a standardized plan for its
structures. Similarly, at three of the National Historic Sites there is
also a bunkhouse for MOW workers, of log construction, all of which are
nearly identical. The car inspector's house is unique because of the
extreme rarity of this particular job. 4% grades were very rare and
none were remotely like the situation at the beginning/end of the
"Helper District" at Cumbres.
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| Chama Bunkhouse |
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| Chama Coal Tipple |
For the railroad fan the crown jewel has to be Chama. With the exception of a new, now 45 year old,
engine house, the railroad yard is a near 100 year old “time capsule” from the
1920’s. The structures are universally
gold with brown trim indicating their use at the time the line was abandoned in
1968. The only exception is the remarkable
wooden coal tipple which continues under restoration but still operates and is
painted in the original boxcar red.
Now you know the story of the buildings of many colors from the last post and that’s my story for this day.
