Lunch break in Caboose 0540

This little photo set dates from July, 1969 when the D&RGW ran a work train to Silverton. Punk Blackstone was the conductor and I visited with him as the crew took its lunch break. Punk was pretty high in seniority by this time but had backed off on working full time taking on an occasional run. Not long after this trip Punk suffered a mild stroke that ended his 40+ year career on the narrow gauge. Punk early on invested in Durango real estate and ended up developing and owning the Sambos on Camino del Rio that he continued to own when Sambos was taken over by Dennys. He also owed a parcel of land that he sold to the Durango school district where the Durango High School was built, and he owned several apartment blocks he named Blackstone I, II, etc. One set of apartments he built for Ft. Lewis College students. He and his wife travelled extensivelly over the world riding trains well into the 90s. They were frequent visitors in my restaurant in Silverton over the years.

See:

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Fritz