{"id":12904,"date":"2026-03-09T23:46:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T05:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/historic-1908-railcar-to-be-restored-in-dolores\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:33:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:33:43","slug":"historic-1908-railcar-to-be-restored-in-dolores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/historic-1908-railcar-to-be-restored-in-dolores\/","title":{"rendered":"Historic 1908 railcar to be restored in Dolores"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Galloping
Galloping Goose Historical Society of Dolores between north Fourth and Fifth streets is central to various town businesses, restaurants and coffeehouses. A series of rate increases will fund the replacement of water infrastructure on First through Sixth streets. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

For centuries, Western Colorado saw very little non\u2011Native settlement. This was because the Rocky Mountains posed a difficult barrier for travelers coming from the east.<\/p>\n

The first trains arrived in the early 1880s in the San Juans, and everything changed.<\/p>\n

Constructing a route one decade later connected the Montrose\u2013Ouray lines to Durango, creating opportunities for settlements along the Mancos and Dolores rivers.<\/p>\n

That history is now at the center of a new preservation effort.<\/p>\n

The donation of a 1908 refrigerator railcar has launched a multi\u2011phase preservation project for the Galloping Goose Historical Society of Dolores. It\u2019s a project board members have desired to start since 2019, but the final price tag and completion date are still in the works.<\/p>\n

\"Denver
Denver & Rio Grande Western refrigerator railcar No. 45 sits at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. Built in 1908, the narrow\u2011gauge \u201creefer\u201d once carried apples and other perishables. The Galloping Goose Historical Society plans to restore the car and display it in Dolores. (Courtesy of Galloping Goose Historical Society)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Kent Aikin, a board member of Galloping Goose, said there\u2019s a bigger purpose to it. It isn\u2019t just about trains \u2013 the hope is to tell the broader history of the region and how railroads shaped it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe railroad transformed society,\u201d Aikin said.<\/p>\n

Not only did it drive the local economy, bringing farm products to distant markets, it also reflected key elements ingrained in the fabric of everyday Montezuma County life: from irrigating water and transporting timber to shipping the varied apples from its once\u2011thriving orchards in Weber and McElmo canyons and in today\u2019s Lewis\u2011Arriola and Lakeview communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will be not just a railroad car display, but a display of historic interest to many people in the county \u2013 agriculture, fruit growing, irrigation, water and other aspects that have shaped the culture and economy of this area,\u201d Aikin said.<\/p>\n

\"Railcar
Railcar No. 45 remains is intact but requires significant stabilization and restoration before it can be transported. (Courtesy of Galloping Goose Historical Society)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Plans take shape<\/div>\n

In fall 2025, Aikin and society president Joe Becker attended a conference of railway historical groups in Durango. While there, they spoke with the executive director of the Colorado Railroad Museum, who asked when they planned to take the railcar currently in Golden. Discussion stirred a plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said to us, \u2018Hey, when do you want that refrigerator car? We had forgotten about it,\u2019\u201d Aikin laughed. \u201cWe said, \u2018Well, gee, yeah, let\u2019s see if we can\u2019t work it out to get it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Project organizers estimate the restoration could take 12 to 18 months, depending on available funding and the condition of the railcar once restoration begins.<\/p>\n

Refrigerator railcars, also known as \u201creefers,\u201d according to the society, had hatches and bunkers on either end. They were designed to keep containers cool for long trips. Workers loaded blocks of ice in the roof through hatches, while chilled air circulated to keep the apples and other produce cold. The ice rested on grilles set over metal pans to catch dripping water.<\/p>\n

According to the Galloping Goose, the refrigerator cars were used throughout the rail system, including the Rio Grande Southern.<\/p>\n

Restoration of refrigerator car No. 45 entails multiple phases, including stabilizing the car in Golden, transporting it to Durango for work, restoring it and eventually displaying it outside the Galloping Goose museum in Flanders Park.<\/p>\n

\"Signage
Signage on Denver & Rio Grande Western refrigerator railcar No. 45 explains the 1908 narrow\u2011gauge car built to carry perishable goods. The final display will feature apple varieties that highlight the region\u2019s orchard heritage. (Courtesy of Galloping Goose Historical Society)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Telling the story of Montezuma County\u2019s orchards<\/div>\n

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad shop is hired to do the work, with the initial stabilization phase expected to cost roughly $38,000. The next restoration phase is estimated at about $99,000. So far, the society has applied for grants and received $7,500 in private donations to fund Phase 1, Aikin said.<\/p>\n

Becker, board president, said the scope is purely cosmetic and not intended to enable the railcar to roll up and down the railway. The society hopes to preserve the railcar in its original condition as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like remodeling a kitchen \u2026 once you open it up, you don\u2019t know exactly what you\u2019re going to find,\u201d Becker said.<\/p>\n

The remnants of the county\u2019s once\u2011expansive orchards today consist of a couple of century\u2011old trees hovering along fence lines.<\/p>\n

Aikin said the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project is enthusiastic about the effort and is a key partner in interpreting Montezuma County\u2019s fruit\u2011growing history as part of the exhibit.<\/p>\n

awatson@the\u2011journal.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Galloping Goose to highlight county\u2019s orchard past<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-12904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12904"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18717,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12904\/revisions\/18717"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12904"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=12904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}