Re: Rico enginehouse in 1942?

Rico was the Division Point for freight operations and the enginehouse there was designed to handle up to 9 of the small engines in use in 1891, a capacity based upon the earlier boom operations of the railroad which lasted until the panic of '93. After the collapse of mining in the area, Rico found itself still a division point but hosting only a daily pair of freight trains - one left each morning for Ridgway and another for Durango, with their opposite numbers arriving in the evening and tieing up. Through passenger trains operated using Telluride as a Division Point so Rico only saw them pass. Helper engines were also housed there.

But the Rico enginehouse was never intended to be a repair shop. That work was done at Ridgway or, during the Rio Grande controlled years, at Alamosa. Rico was a layover service and inclement weather storage facility. Service at Rico would be limited to routine lubrication and adjustment with minimal facilities for running gear repairs.

Most authors have noted that locomotives usually shunned the interior. Perhaps it was a bit cramped, particularly with the larger engines like the K-27s.