Garo Depot

[Robert McFarland]

Where was the Garo Depot located?From the photo in the GARO section of the Park County Archives photos I would guess somewhere on the long straight section heading SW of town.I dont think it shows up on any valuation maps.

[Rick Steele]

Robert,

The ICC field notes show a structure called "Station Building" at 522+00. No dimensions are given. It is about 9 feet too far to be included in the 1:200 scale valuation map and is not shown on the 1:400 scale map which continues from Garos to Schwanders. I find it curious because of the nomenclature of "Station Building" because most other stations are listed as "Depot". There is no marked "Station Building" in the building inventory at Garos. There is, however a "Freight House" listed there. 8' x 12' x 7' eaves.

If the 16' x 23 3/4' depot listed at Garos in the 1894 DL&G B&B book was torn down, there are no notes to that effect. I believe that I read somewhere that the structure was moved to Fairplay after their original depot burned. The Fairplay Depot is listed as 16' x 48' in the valuation and as 20' x 50' in 1894. The B&B Books that I have are only notated up to about 1910.

Rick

[Robert McFarland]

Looking at the material located in the files it would be about .3 of a mile westbound from the water tanks,which would put it about where I was guessing it would be.

[Robert McFarland]

522+00?Where's that?

[Rick Steele]

These are surveyors stations. If you look at your valuation map of Garos, you will see that the survey ends at 5519+50. My mistake on the station building location. It is shown as 5522+00. So, unfortunately, it was two and one half feet too far (timetable direction) west to be included on the 1:200 map of Garos. I doubt that it is a depot in a conventional sense and is probably the small freight depot listed in the Field Notes.

When I was at the National Archives and Records Administration II, where I got all this info, I was unable to find the field notes for the part of the line from Garos to just east of Schwanders. I looked for almost a week. I doubt that they still exist, unless there is a copy somewhere in the files of the BNSF, and that is doubtful. The valuation maps show most of the Trout Creek Pass Line washed out from Newett (Bath) to Box Canyon. The B&B (Bridge and Building) Books that I have show that this line was having trestles and bridges replaced, rebuilt, re-engineered at rather regular intervals, however.

Rick

[Robert McFarland]

I'm sorry, but I don't have a copy of a Garo valuation map.The only materials I have to go on are the B&B materials in the Blog files and the photo in the Park County Archives.