Re: Passenger car at Ridgway

Jeff Taylor Wrote:
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> Built as D&RG coach 37 in 1880 by Jackson and
> Sharp.
> Renumbered 261 in 1885, sold to RGS in 1891 and
> renumbered 252. Later used in work service as RGS
> 0252. Sold to the Shaeffer family in 1953 and
> moved to Trout lake. Later purchased by Done
> shank. Then sold to Karl Schaeffer a few years
> ago. The car is beautiful now, and trucks are
> being built right now.

Jeff got the history close but not complete. Don Shank sold the 252 to the Western Railway Preservation Society about 8 years ago and they sold it to me in 2015. Then a couple of years ago, I sold it to Karl Schaeffer who donated it to the Ridgway Railroad Museum. This part of the 252’s history is often confused. Even the sign currently on the 252 says Don Shank sold the 252 to the “Willamette Valley Railway” in Oregon before coming to Ridgway. I assumed this was a incorrect reference to the Sumpter Valley Railway in Oregon but the SVRR never owned the 252. However, that’s an easy mistake to make since the Western Railway Preservation Society has a lot of connections to the SVRR.