Former Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Passenger Station in La Veta CO
La Veta Pass Narrow Gauge Railroad Depot, La Veta Colorado
- Categories:
- Colorado
- Railroad Facility
- Passenger Station
In the late 1870s the Denver and Rio Grande Railway began building out of Pueblo in the effort to cross La Veta Pass and enter the San Luis Valley. The mountainous terrain imposed considerable difficulties for up to that time no railroad had crossed a pass this high, 9,400 feet; but the barriers were surmounted and the road entered the valley. To serve passenger and freight trains on the run, the Rio Grande built this passenger depot and used it for more than twenty years until 1899 when the original narrow gauge line over La Veta Pass was abandoned in favor of a standard gauge road about seven miles farther south. Despite deterioration over the years the present owner plans to rehabilitate the structure to preserve it as one of the oldest depots remaining in Colorado and as one that marks the development of the early railroad industry.
From an architectural perspective, the depot manifests the salient characteristics of early vernacular railroad stations in Colorado. The structure was hurriedly assembled with local materials to provide a utilitarian purpose. It apparently had no architect per se and exhibits no decorative elements seen on stations in more settled areas. Yet this reflects the type, period, and method of construction of many depots in that early era of railroad construction, particularly in isolated regions like the summit of La Veta Pass.
Located near the summit of La Veta Pass, the narrow gauge passenger depot is a single detached structure one story in height and built in the shape of an "L". The primary building material is stone which was stuccoed and painted white some years after construction. The main or north facade has three bays, the east sides (including the "inside" of the "L") two bays, the west facade two bays, and the south facade no bays. The roof is gabled and covered with shingles through which projects a small chimney. All the structural openings are now covered with wooden slats. There are no decorative elements.
A short distance to the east of the depot are the ruins of the old turntable. Some of the rock cribwork around the edges is still evident.
North (Main) and West Facades (1980)
