(rshsdepot) Antonito, CO

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

      Depot donated to Antonito
      Aug 17 2002 12:00AM  By By KEVIN STAVELY

      By Kevin Stavely
      ANTONITO - The old Denver & Rio Grande Railroad depot located in the
heart of Antonito will be home to the D&RG Railroad Museum and used by the
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad to launch its Antonito Departures.

      The project, expected to take five years, took its first step on
Friday afternoon as Antonito Mayor Harold Abeyta announced that the depot
had been sold by the Union Pacific Railroad to the town of Antonito for $10.
Union Pacific turned around and donated the money back to the town.

      "It is an honor for me to be here and for Union Pacific Railroad to
donate a piece of history that is very important for the community," said
Richard M. Hartman, Union Pacific Representative.

      "We have donated depot buildings all across our railway system that
were in far worse shape that this. And now to go back four or five years and
see what can be accomplished by a community is something we are very proud
of."

      Built in 1880 from hand-hewn lava rock, the depot was of little
interest until its listing in 1999 by the Great American Station Foundation
as one of the nation's most endangered depots.

      Robert Romero headed a committee of town residents working the last
four years to make the donation of the depot possible. He knows the building
inside and out and talked about its past, as well as its future.

      "This is one of the oldest buildings in Antonito," Romero said. "It
sits on the original 10 blocks of the town which originally belonged to the
D&RG Railroad."

      "We are going after grant money and excited about the museum. We want
to get a park here on the west side of the building, but first we have to
get the track moved."

      The museum is expected to take two or three years to complete, as the
town is working with the National Railroad Foundation, a railway depot
preservation group responsible for saving depots all across the nation.

      Passenger service ceased on the railroad in 1951 and Abeyta said the
project was delayed because the railroad had a policy that limited the
number of depots that could be donated within a county.

      The policy called for only one depot per county and the town of La
Jara had already received a depot. Senate District 5 candidate and Antonito
Chamber of Commerce member Rafael L. Gallegos has watched the committee work
the last four years.

      "I am proud of all the board members whose effort paid off in getting
this depot," Gallegos said. "We do certainly have plans to do more with it,
this is just going to take time and money. We are certainly trying to get
this town on the map."



      Alamosa Valley Courier




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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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