Calhan Rock Island Railroad Depot, Calhan Colorado

Date added: November 19, 2024

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Manifest Destiny fueled the drive to settle the American West and unite the East and West coasts in the 19^th century and the railroad played a major role in these goals. As the push was being made to complete the first transcontinental line, short lines or feeder railroads branched off from the mainlines and brought settlers and homesteaders to lands not yet occupied by Anglo-Europeans. In the early 1880s, the Rock Island Railroad [RI] was interested in expanding its line westward for connection with the proposed Colorado Midland [Midland] that was to run out of Colorado Springs to the mining communities. The Chicago, Kansas, and Nebraska Railway (CK&N) was incorporated in 1885 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RI to construct the expanded route. CK&N conducted surveys, and acquired rights-of-way and other properties to extend a line through Kansas to Colorado Springs. CK&N began construction from Horton, Kansas on July 1^st, 1886. Grading stopped for the winter of 1886 in Norton, Kansas. By the spring of 1888 the grading turned southwest and reached Limon by early summer. The grading crews reached the edge of Colorado Springs by September of that year.

The first scheduled RI passenger trains between Colorado Springs and Goodland, Kansas started daily service on November 4^th, 1888. (After 1888 all scheduling is listed under the Rock Island name and by 1891 the CK&N was formally absorbed by RI.) Initially, RI trains went from Chicago to Colorado Springs (RI's "Rocky Mountain Limited" offered 24-hour service between the two cities) then on to Denver over Rio Grande or Santa Fe tracks. The RI connection with the Midland proved valuable to both railroads, however passenger interchange was never up to RI's expectations. The railroad provided transportation to many immigrant families who came into the area lured by cheap land under the Homestead Act and the attractive advertising produced by the railroads. Immigrants to this region of eastern Colorado were often Russians and Slovakians who found the region similar to the steppes of their homeland.

After the Union Pacific granted RI use of its line from Limon to Denver in April 1889, the RI stopped its run from Colorado Springs to Denver. In 1937, the RI introduced its new passenger trains, the "Rockets," and the "Rocky Mountain Rocket" began service between Chicago and Denver on November 12^th, 1939. These trains had specially designed two-part engines. The second section, powered by its gas-electric powered "Rocket Juniors", disconnected form the main train at Limon to make the run through Calhan to Colorado Springs.

The availability of water often determined the locations of depots in the West. There were at least nine RI designed passenger depot stops between the Kansas state line and Colorado Springs. Facilities at the stops varied according to how quickly communities grew. In some undeveloped locations, a boxcar sufficed as the depot. When the population warranted it, more substantial depots provided both freight and passenger service.

The RI built two standard types of depots in Colorado. The first type, actually built by the CK&N as it constructed the original track, was a two-story wood frame Queen Anne-style building. It was distinctive because the second story was smaller, roughly two-thirds the length of the first story. The second story provided living quarters for the station master and was off-set, situated over the office and passenger side, rather than centered over the first floor. Because the line ran east-west and depots were oriented parallel to the track, depots were referred to as either an "east ender" or "west ender" depending upon which end of the building the second story rose. There are no remaining examples of the older style of RI depots in Colorado. Calhan's first depot was destroyed, probably by fire, and was likely of the style described above.

The Calhan depot that stands today was built in 1906-1907 and is of the second, simpler, and later type of depots that the RI constructed. It is a single-story wood frame building with a hipped gable roof and bay window. No living quarters are contained in this depot. A single privy divided for men and women stood just east of the depot. The railroad built an extensive complex at Calhan. In addition to the depot, there was a section house, bunk houses, tool houses, a baggage building, a water tank and pumphouse. A small stockyard occupied the area northeast and across the tracks from the depot and provided a loading point for area ranchers.

Settlement of the area around what would become Calhan began in the 1880s with the establishment of a number of ranches. A post office operated on a ranch on the Big Sandy Creek three miles to the north of what became Calhan. The arrival of the Rock Island Railroad in 1888 promised new prosperity and a link with the outside world. The first train came through on November 5^th and the post office was moved from the Big Sandy to the Calhan depot on November 24th. Eli Woodring actually platted the town but did not do so until 1895.

The town received its name from Michael Calahan, a section foreman for the Rock Island. Either through error or intent, the name was shortened to the present Calhan. The location was chosen because of the need for a locomotive watering station and the availability of water at the site. A hand-dug well lined with bricks lay underground just northwest of the depot. Its 40-foot depth and 32,000-gallon capacity provided water both for the passing trains and the town's residents.

The town itself grew slowly and by 1895 claimed a population of only forty. Russell Gates Mercantile Co. opened a store in 1896. A grain elevator and lumber yard were constructed by 1907. The new century brought a degree of prosperity to Calhan and the population swelled to 400 by 1910 and 500 in 1920. The Calhan Fair was first held in 1905 and provided additional, if short-lived, passenger traffic for the RI. The annual event was expanded in 1910 and renamed the El Paso County Fair. The RI began running special trains to Calhan from Colorado Springs for the fair. The RI would continue the special fair runs until 1925.

A folk song immortalized by "Leadbelly" Huddie Ledbetter proclaimed that, "the Rock Island Line is a mighty fine line." Despite the words of praise, the railroad began to decline in the 1930s. Automobiles provided an affordable transportation alternative and a sense of independence. The Depression further worsened the Rock Island's financial condition. World War II brought renewed life to railroads and the RI was no exception as it carried troops to Fort Carson and Patterson Field. The end of gasoline rationing, general prosperity, and Americans' love of automobiles proved increasingly damaging to the railroads in the United States in the post WW II period.

The Colorado climate always made track maintenance costly. Blizzards, dust storms, and flash floods regularly sweep across the plains and wreaked havoc with the tracks. A June, 1965 flood alone washed out the track in 67 places along the 21-mile stretch between Calhan and Elsmer. In the face of ever-declining profits, the RI reduced its services. The last passenger train passed through Calhan on October 16^th, 1966. Freight service was reduced from two to a single run a day during the 1960s. The RI retained the Calhan depot to serve primarily as a section house. In the early 1970s, the trains stopped altogether as the Rock Island slipped into bankruptcy.

A short-lived renaissance began in 1985 with the formation of the Cadillac Lake City Railway Company. The new firm began operating over the old rails from Limon to Falcon, Colorado. The depot in Calhan served as company headquarters and the only depot along the route. The new company provided limited freight service and occasional passenger excursions including some to the El Paso County Fair. Despite plans for additional service and diner-train excursions, financial success eluded the new line and service ended in 1986. In 1993/94 the rails between Falcon and Limon were removed for scrap and the weed-choked roadbed saw its last activity. The town of Calhan acquired the depot from Elbert County in 1993 for the price of one dollar.

The Calhan depot is the last Rock Island depot in Colorado remaining in its original location.

Building Description

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (RI) Depot is located on its original site fronting the former railroad right-of-way approximately two hundred feet northwest of the intersection of Denver and Third Streets in Calhan, Colorado. The area immediately to the east, north and west remains much as it did when the depot served as an active part of the Rock Island system. Three modern grain elevators closely flank the building on the south side and block the depot physically and visually from the commercial section of town. The RI tracks were removed in 1993/94.

The depot was built in 1906/07 and is of the basic plan and design commonly built by RI in the early 20^th century. The RI depots varied slightly in the location of windows and doors, depending on the lay of the track and the land surrounding them. The wood frame building is approximately 24 feet x 64 feet and is one story. The exterior is asbestos siding over wood clapboards. The date the asbestos siding was added is unknown. The north side of the depot faces the track bed. Passengers departing a train entered a door on the left (east) portion of the north side. It is possible that a transom existed over the door and was covered by asbestos. Further east (left) of this door is a double hung, two over two light windows (all windows appear to be original and are of this design) that gives a view of the track and train to the passenger waiting area. On the west side of the door, and off-center to the east is a bay window containing three double-hung windows. This bay window allowed the station master and line employees to view the train arriving and departing. (Some RI depots had a two-sided triangular, or "V"-shaped bay window.) The freight door is located on the western portion of the north side and is placed to balance the passenger door. The east side of the building houses the passenger waiting room and contains five windows in all, one previously described is located on the front (north), two windows are on the east end of the building and two more are located on the south side. The south side (that now faces the grain elevators) has three windows, all of which are placed on the eastern portion of the depot. Two windows light the waiting room and a third provides a view for the ticket office. It is possible that a door was originally located on the south side as it was atypical for depots to require passengers walk around the depot rather than through it to access the other side. If such a door existed (perhaps in the location of one of these windows) it was enclosed sometime prior to the application of the asbestos siding. Centered on the west end of the depot is a freight door. This door does not match the freight door on the north side and does not appear in a historic photograph of the depot. The earliest time it may have been added would be circa 1920. It was probably added as automotive trucks became both more common and larger than previously used wagons. The historic photograph illustrates that a wagon could easily fit between the depot and the tracks. Maneuvering a larger automotive truck was not likely to be as easy, particularly if it only had rear end freight loading. The building has an asphalt-shingled, hipped roof.

The interior is made up of three large rooms. The front door enters the waiting area which is separated from the ticket office by a wall with a window where tickets were taken. Between the waiting room and ticket office, there is a large metal cage where an old pot belly coal stove provided heat for the entire building. The ticket office is approximately 12 feet by 24 feet, it sits across the center of the building with access to both the passenger waiting room on the east end and the freight storage room on the west end of the building. The freight storage area is approximately 37 feet by 24 feet. Within this storage area is a 12-foot x 8-foot room lined with asbestos siding. This enclosure was probably added and may have been used for the storage of mail.

All the floors are concrete. The interior walls in the waiting and office areas are plastered with wood trim around the windows and baseboards. The interior walls of the large storage area are unfinished.

At one time there were at least nine Rock Island depots between Colorado Springs and the Kansas state line. As the RI line declined to eventual abandonment, various depots were sold or destroyed. Five RI depots remain standing and their locations and conditions are identified below:

Simla Sold and moved to Strasburg. It was converted to a private residence sheathed in brick, thus obscuring almost all identifying characteristics of the depot.

Peyton (Originally called Mayfield) Sold to the Methodist church in Calhan, relocated there, and incorporated into one of the church buildings.

Seibert sold, moved, and is now a gas station near Interstate 70. This depot was of the same RI design as the Calhan depot, except for the bay window (the Seibert depot's bay window was "V"-shaped.)

Bethune this depot is almost identical to the Calhan depot and is in the best physical condition of the remaining depots. It was sold and moved to Burlington where it has been restored and placed in an outdoor "historic town" museum.

The Calhan Depot is one of only two Rock Island depots in Colorado that are intact and it is the only such depot in its original location.