And the West is History: Durango Depot Roundhouse – 1952

Robert Heinich took this photo in the Durango Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad yard in 1952. Of the nine bays available in the roundhouse, at least four have locomotives visible inside. Engine 486, a K-36 Class manufactured in 1925, is on the turntable. A worker is kneeling in front, adjusting the table. This engine was retired in 1962 and displayed at the Royal Gorge in 1967. It returned to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in 1999 and was restored to operating condition in 2000. It is now on display at the D&SNG Museum, and if eventually converted from coal-burning to oil-burning, it will be the last D&SNG to make this transition. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Catalog Number: 00.48.2 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)