Note from The DRHS this morning.
Subject: SN Trackage Grant Won!


We received a package in the mail from the State Historical Fund of the Colorado Historical Society yesterday announcing that we were awarded a grant of $179,655 (75% of the budget of $239,540) for our SN trackage project, which they officially call the Rail Track Reconstruction, Engine House Rehabilitation and Interpretative signage of the Silverton Northern Railroad (Segment) project. This is a joint project between the Durango Railroad Historical Society (DRHS) and the San Juan County Historical Society (SJCHS), which owns the SN engine house and some grounds around it. DRHS will lead and administer the project. SJCHS will support project planning, monitor contract work, work with the Town of Silverton, and provide some rail parts. Both societies will provide volunteers to help with the work, especially inside the engine house. Between the two societies we need to provide $60,000 in matching funds.

Partners in the project include:

1. The Town of Silverton, which owns the street on which most of the track will be laid and will provide an easement for it.

2. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, whose track we will connect with and operate on during special occasions.

3. The Galloping Goose Historical Society of Dolores (GGHS), which is providing 2000 feet of track on permanent loan. The estimated value of the rails, ties, joiners, plates, and spikes for 2000 feet of track is $98,000 – the major savings in the cost of the project (not included in the budget above).

4. The City of Durango, which owns the 315 and is allowing it to be stored and displayed in Silverton for part of the year.

The purpose of this project is to reconstruct the central portion of the Silverton Northern track, from inside the SN engine house to the D&S track and with a spur for displaying restored railcars. The intent is to store the 315 and the railcar Casey Jones in the engine house for the winter. We intend to display the 315 somewhere in Durango during the summer, but don't know where yet. The SJCHS intends to display Casey Jones over by the jailhouse and mining museum in the summer.

The main part of the track would follow the old SN line for a few blocks along Cement Street and have a connection to the D&S Shenandoah Loop near the SN engine house. Part of the track will extend southward along Cement Street to form a section for storing and displaying railcars. All the track would follow the historic SN line. The engine house has two stalls, and track will be laid in both.

The tasks for the track will include:

a. Surveying, producing engineering drawings and specifications for the roadbed.

b. Digging up a block of Cement Street to lay the track with rail flush at the surface.

c. Filling in the area south of the SN engine house to rebuild the roadbed up.

d. Hauling the 2000-ft of track from Dolores to Silverton.

e. Purchasing four new switch panels.

f. Laying the track on the roadbed and in the engine house and connecting with the D&S track.

g. Ballasting the track.




The tasks for the engine house will include:

a. Pulling up the old plank floor and cleaning out the pits.

b. Inspecting and preparing the substructure to receive the track.

c. Restoring the doorsills and frames for the two large engine doors.

d. Upgrade the electric service necessary to maintain the 315 and to restore railcars.

e. Extend the water main and install a water hydrant near the engine house.



The task for the interpretative signs are:

a. Write text and select photos for a sign about the historic trackage in Silverton.

b. Design and fabricate two copies of the same sign.

c. Install one sign near the SN engine house and the other by the D&S depot.




Our goal is to complete this project before next winter. That is, if all goes well, because the construction season in Silverton is short because of its high altitude – 9300 feet.

This project does not include restoration of the SN engine house itself, except as noted in the track substructure and the doorways. SJCHS intends to restore the building later in a separate project. The goal is to restore it as a living museum that displays railroad artifacts as well as be a place to restore historic railcars owned by SJCHS, besides storing the Casey Jones and 315 in the winter.