Re: D&RGW Durango-Silverton train desination

When I worked there in 1981 we occasionally hauled some freight on the regular passenger trains. There was a small mining operation just north of Elk Park that received some equipment and supplies on a flat car. We would pick this car (known as the "Hollywood Flat" due to it being the car that was blown up during the filming of "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid") up on the head end of a northbound passenger train and spot it at Silverton. The southbound move required stopping and dropping the car into the mining company spur.

This made for a rather exciting move one day when the hand brake failed on the car and it rolled into, and partially buried itself in the mound of dirt that served as the loading dock at the end of the spur at a pretty good clip. The conductor bailed off mid flight and was uninjured. Fortunately, on this day, the car contained only a few empty 55 gallon drums which went flying in the crash.

Charlie Bradshaw was riding in his private car on the end of the train so all the officials were on the train as well to keep an eye on things. I recall George Connor standing just below the engine watching this event unfold, calmly smoking his pipe. Afterwords he looked up at us on the engine and his only comment was; "Nice drop".

Russ