D&RGW 812 in Durango, 1971. What happened?

On page 37 of Stan Rhine's new book on D&RGW High Side Gondolas, there is a photo of Drop Bottom gon 812 sitting in Durango, somewhat overloaded with bridge timbers, in October of 1971;



As you can see, the car is leaning to the right quite a bit. At some point after this photo, 812 suffered some fairly severe damage to what would be the right side wall in the photo above. The frame was also bent and if you look at the car today, the brake wheel ("B") end lists pretty much the same as in the photo while the other ("A") end sits straight.

I had been told in the past that the damage most likely occurred in the early 1980's, when the D&SNG was building a siding north of Durango. That seemed to fit as I figured had the D&RGW damaged the car, they would have just scrapped it.


All that said, the photo sure provides a likely cause for 812's present state, the car already looks bent and it seems as though any shift in its load would be enough to damage the side wall.

So, was anyone out there in Durango in October of 1971 or thereabouts that could provide insight into this question? (while there is a fairly good chance that I was in Durango in October of 1971, visiting my great grandparents, I would have been 10 months old at the time..)


812's mangled side

Jason Midyette



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/06/2019 10:10AM by Jason Midyette.