Western Railroad Discussion > U.P. Burnham Shops-Denver. The Final Days.

Here's a couple of grab shots I took this morning down at Burnham while on crutches.  (a badly broken ankle)  It's hard to believe the dramatic differences in just the past couple of weeks.  Where once there were engines going in and out of the shops and a HUGE collection of stored power, there's nothing but emptiness.  Scheduled closing from what I've read is next weekend.

I had an opportunity a couple of times to be invited onto the property and to take pictures.  I will always look back at those photos fondly.  

Perhaps one of the last moves?  Units were headed to North Yard.

A couple more................

Jim Barton

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These are views you would rarely have because your view would be blocked by rows and rows of power.   An example is, this was the collection point for the former Rio Grande and Southern Pacific Tunnel Motors prior to their auction almost six years ago.   The United Way SD40-2 was also stored here for quite a while as well.

Lastly, a final reminder of the Rio Grande.....................

Thanks for looking.

Jim Barton

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Depressing. Thanks for sharing.

This brings up a question though, how or what will happen to DRGW 3006 sitting behind the shops?

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For those that may not know, photo 5 is the former coach shops where the Rio Grande Zephyr was serviced on Wednesdays. 

Very lucky. It was the last move.
As for the DRGW collection, seems to be working on a solution to getting them off the property. Time will tell.

saw the power there it looked lonely taggers will have just the buildings and rrpres's equipment now

With Burnham gone, where is the nearest place to Denver to do Locomotive maintenance? North Platte? I suppose North Yard must have some small enclosed area to at least change out a traction motor. Still, a big area with not much in the way of shops, and BNSF sends their work to Lincoln. I wonder if it would be smart for some enterprising outfit to buy what equipment they can still left inside Burnham at fire-sale prices and start a contract locomotive maintenance shop somewhere in the Denver area? === === = === JLH

Is there a shop in alliance ne at all for bnsf?   usually there will be an auction of what is left.  Hulcher was using the car shop, they maybe gone allready.  UP had an auction there.  To bad CRRM can't get the facility for standard gauge stuff, put 5629 in there , store some of the UP stuff in there from Chian, relocate the Forney.  Leave the Quiat's stuff there, offer 2926 a visit or storage anything.

how many layoff's

500?  ithink that what is being said

dan Wrote:
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> Is there a shop in alliance ne at all for bnsf?  

Yes, BNSF still has a major maintenance shop at Alliance NE.

Jim, thanks for these last shots.  Brings sadness to me here in Western Kansas as I recall what the D&RGW's Burnham shops looked like in 1963 when I made a visit to the area then...long before the new blue metal buildings.  It seemed a much more closed-in area then with the German built Krauss-Maffei diesel-hydraulics with the dynanometer car being tested at that time.  Also, the remaining business cars, Wilson McCarthy, etc. were stored on the west side of the big brick shops then.  Sad to see the taggers take the area over as I can aleady see the canned spray paint on the doomed buildings and before the area will evolve into an oblivious mess.

Thanks for the memories........

High value land to get a bundle for.

The end of an era.  When I was just 12 years old (back in the 1960's), my Dad and I got a complete "tour" of Burnham.  My Dad was doing contract work for the D&RGW at the time, so we got carte blanche to look anywhere that we wanted to.  Our tour (we had no "guide," we just walked the entire facility) was on a Sunday, which, in those days, was a much slower day than  any other day of the week.  I can remember walking through lines of idling F7's, F9's, GP30's, and GP35's.  There were just a few SD-45's, that the Grande had just gotten ,that were there, too.  Unlike today, there was no graffiti and hardly anything in the place was even locked.  Somewhere, I have some old black and white photos that I took with a Brownie camera that day.  People will quickly forget that Burnham was Milepost 0 on the old Denver & Rio Grande.  Another touchtone of Colorado's "baby railroad" that soon will be gone forever.

Thanks for the photos, Jim. Much appreciated. Just wish the subject matter was less depressing.

Jason Rose
Spring, TX
Rio Grande Explorations

But the cleanup costs will be great just like the old airport in Denver years of fuel and oil spills to get rid of.
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> High value land to get a bundle for.

With respect to moving the equipment at Burnham Yard. We do have to move the cars out of Burnham Yard, most can move by rail, some will have to be moved by truck or by flatcar.

We hav found several locations for the equipment at Burnham Yard.  The Union Pacific has been cooperative in helping with the move, but it has been slow. The largest amount of time has been finding a new location for the cars.

Dan Quiat

Thanks Dan for the update.  It looks like you have quite a few pieces down there and I wish you well in finding locations for it.  

Jim Barton

I thought North Yard was pretty full already.

Jim,

Thanks!