Boreas Turntable

[Keith Hayes]

The Railroad Glory Days Facebook site posted this image a week ago or so:



Initially, this was identified as the remains of the Como roundhouse. I figured it was the tenement building, but a smart reader correctly identified this as the remains of the covered turntable atop Boreas. The tell-tale is the parapet peaking out over the top of the wall to the right. Also, I believe that is Boreas mountain in the back, and amid the ruin in the center of the image is the snowshed that covered the still-in-use mainline. Not sure where the image came from, but it is sure neat!

[Keith Hayes]

From the same site and collection, here is an image of the tenement fire:

[Keith Hayes]

And last, this image of Peabody:



Comments included the following: "The hand writing says 'Good bye and Good Luck'. From the Jim Woodward collection. Taken 1920 to 1937, when the RR closed," and "From the collection of James Woodward (1910-1983) A long time Colorado Railroad worker."

These are neat images and thanks to whomever posted them.

[Don Pacetti]

Keith Hayes wrote

From the same site and collection, here is an image of the tenement fire:

Keith, is photo of the stone tenement fire at Como?

[Jeff Young]

Shouldn’t Robert’s Cabin be behind the Peabody sign?  Was it moved to its present location later?

[ComoDepot]

I posted a photo on the Como Depot Facebook page where I tried to stand in the same spot as the photograph of the burning Tenements. Never knew they had burned until I saw this photo. Late WW1 period I would assume.

Peabody sign is not where I expected it to be. Will try and do the same in the next day or so, may well be trees in the way.

[Don Pacetti]

ComoDepot wrote

I posted a photo on the Como Depot Facebook page where I tried to stand in the same spot as the photograph of the burning Tenements. Never knew they had burned until I saw this photo. Late WW1 period I would assume.

Peabody sign is not where I expected it to be. Will try and do the same in the next day or so, may well be trees in the way.

Hi Tom, I was amazed by this photo, as I had never seen it before and had no idea the Stone Tenement was destroyed by fire. I was also surprised that we never found any information concerning the fire in the Fairplay Flume, while researching the books.

[Rick Steele]

Just a quick note regarding the Boreas Engine House.

The Valuation shows one wall of the snowshed at Boreas being supported by the remaining wall of the enginehouse.

Rick

[ComoDepot]

The Flume is erratic, certainly by this time it seems to focus more on who visited who as opposed to interesting issues such as these. The earlier period is better covered.

As an aside I have had several editorial pieces in the Flume and knowing the issues have been extremely careful in what I have said, still comes out with mistakes. Probably no different then to now.

There is also the problem that there are gaps, some quite large in the archives. Como had its own paper, but not much has survived.

I had little joy searching for the Pacific Hotel fire which you would have thought have been a major item. Best I found was a secondhand report in the BV Paper that said both the Hotel and the Depot had burned with a loss to the Railroad of $25,000.

David