D&RGW RPO #60

At the beginning of the new year, a group of young volunteers at the Colorado Railroad Museum began the restoration of the interior of D&RGW Railway Post Office Car No. 60. The baggage end has been addressed first since it is complete and was not gutted by the Rio Grande when the car was converted to work service in 1951. We have made great progress in the past 3 months. The days available to work on the car have been limited, due to the car being used in the "varnish" train consist during most steam-ups. Currently, this has been all scraping and painting, no replacement or fabrication of wood just yet. Most of the wood still inside the car is in fairly decent shape, if just beat up from years of use on the railroad. The following photos show the progress made in the baggage compartment.

Before...







And after (remember, we still have more to do for detailing in the baggage end - WORK IN PROGRESS!!)






And in an effort to disarm the inevitable comments, the paint colors were selected from paint still left inside the baggage room, as well as the "standard practice" paint specs used by the Rio Grande in its baggage and RPO cars. The yellow used is called "Marshall Yellow", and the cream is known as "Finch". The red may be repainted at a later date with a more "boxcar red" shade. The "60" will soon be reapplied on the wall at the front end of the car.

More photos to come later, if desired.

Regards,

Shane