Central City Station?

[Kurt Maechner]

The building to the bottom left of this photo has been referred to by some as Central City station, but we know it's not the real Central City station.  That one was buried under the mine tailings further to the left of this photo.  Does anyone know what this building actually was?  Was it ever used as a station?  I know it did at one time (and possible still does) have a "Central City" station sign on it.  Also, it seems shaped in such a way to make way for the train to pass it.  

Here's a better shot of it from the Denver Public Library Collection:


Also, does it have any present use?  Has anyone ever seen the inside?  

Thanks for any insights,
Kurt

[John McCutcheon]

See Rick Steele's articles in the Gazette some years ago about Central City.

John McCutcheon

[Chris Walker]

Let's call it the First Central City Depot since it predated the "buried" later Depot.

Kurt, you can find a pictorial sequence here http://c-sng-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Central-City-depot-td6814.html#a6819

The Colorado Central at the Central City Depot
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/9663/rv/singleitem/rec/46

[Rick Steele]

Hi Kurt,

The photo of the building with the shaved off corner (for train clearance) is actually the Central City Section House. After the fire of 1874, city ordinance read that all new buildings downtown were to be built of brick. The tracks did not reach Central City until 1878. The small building next to it was the actual depot. The "Depot" reminded me a lot of the DSP&P Station at Mount Princeton. It was more of a telegraph office, but that small building housed the Public Ticket office and agent's office.

Looking at the lower photo that Chris Walker posted, with the Congdon Stacked Locomotive rolling by the two buildings, you can see the slat roof of the Central City Freight House in the lower left hand corner. Try as I might, I have never seen a good, clear photo of this building... a quest for Chris Walker...

In the early 1900's the Central City Freight House was replaced by the Spanish Style brick depot, ostensibly on the same footprint as the Freight House. This is the depot that was covered by the Chain O'Mines tailings in the late 1930's.

After about 1995 when the Weekly Register-Call moved from the Masonic Hall building, the two buildings, those being the Section House and Ticket Office, were combined into one using a wooden extension between the buildings. The Register-Call relocated there. The employees parked in the former yard (actually main line and passing track) behind the Hawley Merchandise Company warehouse. There is one photo that I have seen of the brick CC ticket office in use, displaying the UPD&G logo and a Union Pacific Express sign. I believe that it was on this discussion group.

When I lived in Central City, the old dividing wall with ticket window still existed in the Ticket Office. There was nothing fancy, the building was four square brick walls and a single dividing wall down the center of the building. The Section house was pretty well gutted. These two buildings, the Section House and Ticket Office were built of "Hooper Brick" which was a local Central City Brick made at Hooper Brick Yard. This brick was not high-fired and many of the bricks have blown away in the mountain winds when they reverted to red sand. Notice that there are no exterior striations to these bricks, they are solid faced.

Rick

[Kurt Maechner]

Thanks for the great info.  This clears so much up for me.

Out of curiosity, was the section house built before the track ran past it?  It seems odd that they had to shave off part of the building after it was built (unless it was built that way, but that seems out of character for this time period).  Was this change to the section house done after the track was extended to the newer depot in the early 1900s?  

[Chris Walker]

Rick,

I have been on that quest for many years....

Kurt,

the chamfered roof was pre the new Depot see http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/70920/rv/singleitem/rec/510

[jim pallow]

   I never noticed before but in the photo with the 3 pass cars, to their left is what looks to be a coal dumping bin under construction which will be on a short stub track.  JP

[jim pallow]

   Get to looking at it again I think it's finished and in use.  Another industry for the modelers! :)  JP

[Rick Steele]

Yes, JP and that bin lasted all the way to the valuation. It is listed on the Central City yard map in 1917.

May have been part of the local coal company? No industry was listed.

Rick

[Chris Walker]

Rick, you may be most likely correct that it is a coalbin and possibly owned by the Hawley Merch. Co. but it not the same as on the C&S valuation since that siding on top of the Chutes disappeared in the interim.  That picture is the only one I've seen to date(or at least remember) as showing that Chute and siding.

Later pictures show vacant land and stulls stored there at the location.  The C&S valuation building that you are referring to was built later see http://c-sng-discussion-forum.41377.n7.nabble.com/Central-City-depot-tp6814p6839.html for a full progression of the Hawley Merch.

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/78658/rv/singleitem


This is the building that appears on the C&S Valuation sheet.
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/236/rv/singleitem/rec/1586

[Rick Steele]

Hi Chris,

Good theory. I can't argue with you on the spur. I just didn't see it before. In looking closely at the bottom photo, what looks like a track leading to a box car up against a shed is probably a wall or stored rail. The same car appears on the Valuation and I doubt that they would spot an active car there for 10 years, although stranger things have been known to happen. If the spur is on the top image, I would appreciate you pointing it out to me, I still fail to see it.

I must point out that the Hawley Merchandise Co. Warehouse was the same building all of the photos. The building was just added on to floor by floor. Even the floor made by the roof joists was used at one time. (Yes, I've been in it). Actually, the most exciting thing that I see are the two buildings flanking the Hawley Merchandise Co. building. They were both C&S Customers. The one nearest to Black Hawk was, on the C&S employees track maps, Labeled "Neef's" and the one nearest to the depot was labeled "Zang's". They could have used the same siding as Hawley or had the beer carted over from the Depot but nonetheless they were important enough to be noted for the employees.

Another thing is the road on the Black Hawk side of Neef's. If you have ever seen the topography in Central City, that road had to almost use a funicular to pull horses and wagons up the grade. Great Sledding hill in the winter, but what a booger to move on.

Both of the buildings that I mentioned were Denver Breweries and these were their local distribution outlets for their beer. The Gold Coin Saloon in Central City was sponsored by Zang's, this was an accepted business promotion back then. The Coors distribution outlet was in Black Hawk. According to a pre-prohibition brewers guide to Colorado, Zangs was the biggest beer producer in the State of Colorado. This was followed by (I think) Tivoli-Union Brewing Company, the successor to Neef's. Coors was Number three.

I know that it makes no difference, but it is fun to see.

Keep looking for that freight house...

Rick

[Robert McFarland]

Where does Carl Conrad and Budweiser fit in to the Colorado beer picture?

[Chris Walker]

Rick Steele wrote

Hi Chris,

Good theory. I can't argue with you on the spur. I just didn't see it before. In looking closely at the bottom photo, what looks like a track leading to a box car up against a shed is probably a wall or stored rail. The same car appears on the Valuation and I doubt that they would spot an active car there for 10 years, although stranger things have been known to happen. If the spur is on the top image, I would appreciate you pointing it out to me, I still fail to see it.
Keep looking for that freight house...

Rick

Rick,

with the exception of the Spur on a Chute/Bin, I can't see any other change in the trackwork there based on the photos, and that was a popular place for the Central City photographers to shoot from.  The "Mainline" does contort past the Sectionhouse and original Ticket Office evidenced by the twist in the rake of passenger cars in the train.  The double-ended Siding is also present in the earliest pictures.

 I had been wondering if that the Siding was the original Main and the additional track added to form the Mainline, which would give reason to chop back the Sectionhouse roofline.  The first Switch alignment doesn't give me the impression that it was though, the upper end switch being a Y.   One thing that is apparent is it does seem drastic to rebuild an existing Structure when it was common practice to elevate roadbed on cribbing and/or drystonewalling.  There seems to be some space behind to excavate if the building was built new to avoid that angled wall/roofline so I think that it would be safe to conclude the S/H would predate the RR.

The de-trucked freightcar were indeed there from an early time which I can't define, another added the first car then disappears in the later shots.  The second carbody probably showed up after the new Depot was built since since it occupied the area where the wooden platform was(this I haven't cross-checked yet).

Apparently the coalbin/chute spur wasn't for the long term for some reason, an expensive exercise to say the least.

http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/78620/rv/singleitem/rec/594


This image is cropped on the right, a slightly wider view is on pg275 of Colorado Central Rail Road by Abbott/McLeod/McCoy
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/9663/rv/singleitem/rec/46


http://cdm16079.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/fullbrowser/collection/p15330coll22/id/9622/rv/singleitem/rec/261

[Rick Steele]

To be quite honest, Chris, I think that the trackage was built with the siding, as there are photos of DSP&P boxes spotted there.

I would surmise that the Section house was built with the "shaved corner". The brick and mortar work are the same as the original on the building with no evidence of any reconstruction having taken place.

Remember, space was at a premium with all of the mining and milling up there (Plus cartage, supplies, etc.). At one time Nevadaville was larger than Denver. The Central City Area, with Black Hawk, Central City, Russell Gulch and Nevadaville was an early case of Urban sprawl.

The Railroad to Central wasn't built until relatively late, 1878. The line to Black Hawk was built in 1873. Central City was the county seat. When you look at the parades that took place in May, 1878, you can see a Colorado Central Train parked on the Hawley Merchandise Company siding (or so it looks). This leads me to believe that the CC had to shoehorn in the Section House and Ticket office. Why the open space where the freight house was built was not used for these buildings is a mystery that only Omaha and Golden can answer.

Rick