D&SNG Museums - Silverton Freight Yard Museum

81433 Silverton, CO, United States of America (USA) (Colorado)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Silverton Freight Yard Museum was opened in 1999 and is located at the Silverton depot and rail yard. On display are outfit cars, some equipped with kitchen facilities and Side-dumped gondolas. Engine 493 is part of a static display of a freight train. In the Silverton depot are local artifacts.


By taking a short walk or drive to the Silverton Depot you will open the doors to the history of the rail and mining industry. During its heyday, three railroads operated out of Silverton! Although it was built as a temporary structure in 1882 and was bombed in 1975, the Silverton Depot still stands as a testimony to the strength and endurance of the townsfolk in this mountain town. The Baldwin Locomotive #493 that was originally built in 1902 and converted to narrow gauge in 1928 is on display in the freight yard along with many pieces of rolling stock. The Depot is open on dates when the train is operating to Silverton.
 

Discovery Museum

On the one-year anniversary of the opening of Durango's newest museum, the "Discovery Museum", it was connected to the D&S Museum via the 19th century technology of the telegraph. It was a project the two museums had been working on for over a year. With donations from D&SNG owner Al Harper and the family of the late artist Russell Steel and with the experience of ham radio operator Capp Allen, it became a reality. Amos Cordova, whose career with the D&RGW & D&SNG spanned 36 years and included literally thousands of telegraph messages across the metal lines, eagerly sat at the table and clicked out the first train orders sent in Morse code in decades!

So that the adults and kids don't have to fight over who goes first, there are two telegraph stations set up in each museum. Besides the 19th century telegraph button, you can also type messages using a 1940s-type bug or on a modern-day keyboard that converts the signal into international Morse code and lets you read the message you are typing on a monitor. You can choose to hear your message in typical railroad telegraph clicks or in beeps as used in nautical transmissions. Messages can be sent and received at either the other telegraph station in the same museum or across the wires to the telegraph station at the Discovery Museum. Be a part of history and experience the reliable means of telecommunications crucial to safe railroading!

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