(rshsdepot) Hugo, CO

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

From Railway Preservation News...

Hope for Hugo Roundhouse?

The February 3, 2002 edition of the Denver Post notes that Colorado
Preservation, Inc. (a non-profit private organization) has named the former
Union Pacific roundhouse at Hugo, Colorado as one of Colorado’s seven most
endangered historic structures.  The article also reports that the Town of
Hugo is considering restoration of the building as a rail museum and county
offices.  A previous attempt to save and restore the building failed when
the private owner refused entrance after initially OK’ing the project.  For
a complete RyPN Article on the structure, see this link
 http://www.rypn.org/Articles/Hugo/ ).

The roundhouse is now one of only five remaining in Colorado.  Dilapidated,
and with a collapsed roof, it is located in a large open field and was once
surrounded by wye for turning locomotives longer than the 80-foot turntable
could handle.  After sale by the railroad, it housed a farm implement dealer
and hardware store before being abandoned.  Ironically, an identical-design
UP roundhouse at Sterling, Colorado was razed within the last two years.  In
better condition, the Sterling roundhouse could have provided much material
for the Hugo restoration, but apparently nothing was saved from the
demolition.  The former Hugo depot also still exists, moved a short distance
away some years ago to become a museum that never reached fruition.

(Bob Yarger)

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