Re: Shenanigans.

It may have be conjecture, but the pre-abandonment activities of the D&RGW in the late 60s were certainly suspect, and lead one to think they were racking up expenses to provide for an overwhelming abandonment case. The main piece of evidence was carloads of new ties spotted all along the right-of-way between Alamosa and Durango. And they remained in the cars with little or no apparent placing of the new ties.
After abandonment was approved, the section crew from Durango spent quite some time hauling all the ties into Durango where they were eventually used on the Silverton branch. I recall Jack Rentfrow, the Durango Trainmaster, telling me that those carloads of ties were "in storage" along with a wink of the eye.
Here's a shot of the "in storage" ties at Gato on October 4, 1966.
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