Re: Another rumor laid to rest-#497

Not all of the equipment left in Durango in 1968 was saved. I watched the scrappers torch the metal parts off a number of cars that sat out on the main line headed south from the yard (1970). The Western Union car(s?) bit the dust as did a number of others. A few were burned by vandals before the scrappers got to them. I don't recall any of the cars stashed on the Silverton line itself being scrapped, but a lot of stuff was not saved. The D&RGW had originally marked only a handful of cars for the continuation of the Silverton line. Jack Rentfrow told me that he tried to squirrel away as many of the cars as he could because he thought they would be needed in the future. So, any notion that the 497 being "stranded" in Durango saved much is mistaken. You may note on my pictures of the 493 that D&RGW was stencilled in yellow on the cab, and all such equipment so stencilled was done ahead of the scrappers and indicated that piece of equipment was to remain with the railroad. Cars that went to the states were stencilled C-NM as I recall. Everything else was purchased by the scrapper.