This is the resort where we stayed in Mt. Crested Butte.

Using the GPS/Topo system from my pal Everett, we

quickly located the D&RGW Depot in Crested Butte.

Bob Richardson reported that the Depot was serving as the town library.

But, it has since been converted to a civic center.

The interior is VERY well maintained.

Stairs leading the 2nd floor.

The light fixture looks

original to me

It makes me happy to see this historic

structure being so well cared for.

I have no idea what this is for, but it's pretty cool.

Back in Gunnison we drove on the old

grade of the Crested Butte Branch

We followed the CB Branch RoW all the way to the airport, which is where the Gunnison Yard was once located.

DRGW standard gauge boxcars are scattered around town.

Much my surprise, we stumbled across the Gunnison Depot.

It even appears to be in it's original location. In all of my research I've never seen any mention that is was still

standing. Although, it's not in very good shape and

seems to be an office for a junk yard.

Back of the Depot

Northeast corner of the Depot

Our next stop was the Pioneer Museum in Gunnison. This was supposed to be a quick stop because I really just wanted to see #268 and train up close. I'd also heard that the Sargent Depot was there. But, I greatly under-estimated how much other stuff was there and how neat a place it is. As it was, we were there about 2 hours. But, I could have easily spent 3-4 DAYS going through everything. I HIGHLY recommend paying the museum a visit if you're in the area. It's not just railroad history. Every facet of American society since the 1800's is represented. It's like the Smithsonian of Colorado!

These three shots are for my father, a lover of Native American arrow heads.

I've played the Trombone

 since 1987, so I had to

include a picture of the

one at the museum.

C-16 #268 - Resplendent in her "Grande Gold"

paint scheme from the movie "Denver & Rio Grande."

Messin' around!

The Sargent Depot

NG Weed Burner.

I bet this thing put

 on a great show!

The Sargent Depot

The interior of the Sargent Depot is truly a sight to behold. It's a treasure trove of railroad history and artifacts. No student of railroad history should miss seeing this collection.

Michele got a shot of me drooling over one of the

many lantern cases

My sincerest gratitude

to the Irby family.

Old School House

Old Post Office

The museum boasts of very large

collection of antique cars and trucks.

Michele's Favorite

Inside the Chapel

Old Post Office

Outside the Chapel

Old School House

Inside the school

We both LOVED this sign!

Outfit Car east of Gunnison

Sargent Tank

Fortunately the tank is still standing, but is in need of some tender loving care. The replica tank near the road (picture on right) is for donations to help support the restoration.

The last train came through here in 1955, with K36 #489 on point.

Despite five and a half decades of neglect, the tank looks pretty good.

I couldn't get a shot of the truck under the real tank, so

I had to settle for a shot next to the model.

The Section House and Storage Shed

Here's a few shots from the I50 side

Back of Section House and Storage Shed

Because of time constraints and some increasingly severe driving fatigue, we

skipped driving over Marshall Pass on this trip and went over Monarch Pass

instead. Michele really wanted to ride the gondola, anyway. Marshall Pass will

have to wait for a future trip. But, I WILL go over it someday.

The gondola station

at the bottom.

Halfway up the mountain the tram stopped so that another group could get off at the bottom. 5 minutes went by with no more movement. 10 went by... 15... 20... and we just sat there swinging in the wind (literally). After amusing herself by taking pictures of me, Michele pulled up Google on her phone and fortunately found the phone number for the tram office. I called to report our situation, but the manager didn't believe me at first. After some gentle persuasion she started to take me seriously. A few moments later we were moving again.

At the top the attendant opened the door to our car and I noticed she was out of breath. I casually remarked that I thought she would be more used to the altitude than that. She replied that she had just "RUN HALFWAY DOWN THE MOUNTAIN" to verify that we were really in the car! It turns out that the young college-aged kid working the lift at the bottom forgot  that we were on board and didn't restart it after the last group disembarked. When the manager told lift operator at the top she ran down to verify my story. Sometimes you just gotta laugh...

The view was well worth the trouble of getting up there!! Simply Spectacular!

The Continental Divide

Pikes Peak

The station at the top.

Heading back down.

Nearing the station at the bottom. That poor kid running the lift at the bottom was waiting for us and he couldn't apologize fast enough. I almost felt sorry for him. But, after enjoying the view for half an hour I was hardly in a mood to be upset about a minor inconvenience.

Monarch Limestone Quarry

The limestone quarry at Monarch kept the

Monarch Branch busy until the mid 1980's,

although it was broad-gauged in 1956.

This is the grade coming

down from the quarry, approaching I50...

...and crossing I50 heading towards the switchback

at Garfield.

The upper level of the switchback at Garfield

490 LIVES!!

K37 #490 was scrapped in Alamosa in 1965. This unusual replica is at an RV park on the loop between Maysville and Garfield, south of I50. It sits only about 100 feet from

the Right of Way.

The RV park.

The road is on the old grade.

Across I50 from the RV park, the Right of Way continues up the grade where it will make a 180 degree turn towards Garfield.

The grade is on a shelf above I50 before it loops around

 and heads up the grade to Garfield.

Mears Jct

This is where the Valley

Line to Alamosa branched

 off of the main line to Gunnison/Montrose.

This is the private

driveway to ...

... this house which is built ON THE GRADE of the Valley Line, just east of the bridge over the main line to Marshall Pass & Gunnison and Utah

The gap in the fill is where

the bridge was located. The main line of the 3rd Division was below it.

Here's the house built on the line to Poncha Pass (the Valley Line) just east of where the bridge was.

The grade going up to Poncha Pass and down into

the San Luis Valley on its way to Alamosa.

Another shot of the house on the grade. You can clearly see where the bridge located. I'm assuming the owner is a railfan, but I don't know anything about him/her.

This horse was between the main line and the road along side Poncha Creek. Michele called to it from the truck and it looked over at us, dropped the grass from it's mouth, and stared at us like it was about to walk over and chat. So after a quick picture we left. Very friendly fellow.

The grade above 285 between Mears Jct and Poncha Jct.

Salida Yard. I would love to have explored this area, but the

No Trespassing signs were prominently displayed.

Salida Yard, looking northwest.

This is where the 3d Division mainline to Poncha Jct crossed the Arkansas River

The pier where the main

crossed the Arkansas River.

The Arkansas River

The south side of the river where the main continued

on Poncha Jct

On the way back to the hotel we found an old-school, free standing Pizza Hut (all of the Pizza Huts in Houston are in strip malls) and got some grub. I sure wish I could have spent an hour exploring Salida Yard.

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