Re: D&RGW Cars Near Gunnison?

Well now, this is interesting. The first car appears to be a standard 4000 series outfit car, looks 30' vs. a 27 foot car to my eye, many of which were scrapped in the early-mid 50's in Gunnison and only about 5-6 have popped up over the years. Perhaps this is one of the cars in the D&RGW Workcar book or not. Problem is that the numbers of the car are probably under the interior siding, if visible at all. Maybe someone can attempt an ID on it from the book or photos. If there was only red paint left on it, it may not have ever been painted grey, which might narrow it down as a large chunk of the outfit cars in Gunnison appear to have been painted grey late in their careers, although sometimes the really old paints seem to outlast even mid-century lead.

But....the second car is a real rare bird and I REALLY hope that the new owners don't plan anything drastic with it. That looks exactly like a 24' Billmeyer and Small's box, of which there are only 3 other fully intact (not cut in half - there are at least 3 half cars too...) out there that I know of, one in Silverton, one in Sargents and one in Monte Vista. All have had some preservation efforts made to date, but amazingly, none are truly "safe" yet even though they are the last survivors of the largest class of freight cars on the D&RG.

Hopefully the new owners realize (or can be told) what they have in that car and treat it accordingly. It deserves a loving home at the tender age of ~140.