Friends of the Como Railway Society

27th September looking North

2011-09-28T14:10:00.000-07:00

Jar on the Bar

2011-08-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Roofing finished

2011-03-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

This shows the back, we had a perfect day yesterday for the finale. Apparently there is no golden spike used to nail down the last piece. If you look very closely there is a bit of flashing to be done around the chimneys by the mason.

The front, completed

2011-02-23T14:31:00.000-08:00

Roof front

2011-02-22T16:13:00.000-08:00

More progress on the Roof

2011-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Como Depot Grant Application 2011– Letters of Support

2011-02-02T13:04:00.001-08:00

In 2008 with the help of volunteers the building was stabilized allowing us time to apply for grants from the State Historical Fund. We have now nearly completed the second of the two grants we have received. The photo above shows the chimneys reinstated, the structural repairs completed. Work has started on re roofing with wood shingles, and with a break in the weather will be finished by the end of March.

The Future

The two grants have required a 25% cash match so we have only been able to proceed as fund raising allows. Last year we were awarded a grant from Colorado Dept of Transportation. This gives us a one off opportunity to use this to match State Historical Funds and finish the repairs to the building. The final phase will be fitting it out as a museum/visitor center.

Assuming we are successful in obtaining funding, this would allow us to finish the building inside and out, rebuild the switchmen’s hut on the south end and reinstall the platform.

The next round of applications for State Historical Funding is April 1 2011. We would be very grateful for a letter of support for our application.

Format

The letters need to be addressed to State Historical Fund, Civic Center Plaza, 1560 Broadway, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80202. They need to be passed to us so we copy them and include them in our application.

Some guidance from the SHF:

Letters that indicate a clear understanding and support of the project are best. Letters that are general or based on a template do not evoke positive responses from reviewers.

2011-01-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

The weather has not been cooperative, but here we are in January making progress.

My contribution was digging out the driveway, the snow had got so deep and frozen that a truck plow could not do it, so a combination of the old fashioned shovel and more modern snow blower did it, eventually.

Roof work starts

2011-01-24T17:24:00.001-08:00

Como weather has not been that co-operative, but today we have progress.

North Chimney

2010-11-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Just for the sake of completeness.

Extension Chimney

2010-11-08T14:45:00.000-08:00

This one looks more like a chimney. It was not very well constructed originally but they did see the need for a bigger flue. Both this one and the south one were full of debris, the middle one was clear, perhaps the middle one was used after the railroad era?

Flashing will cover much of the base when the shingle roof is installed.

Chimney complete, nearly

2010-11-04T12:26:00.000-07:00

The chimney on the south end. When the flashing is completed it will partly hide the pedestal that comes out of the roof.

It has been a long time since the chimney profile was so complete. Even a 100 years ago this top course or two were missing.

The bricks will be cleaned up.

South Chimney

2010-11-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

Men at work on the South Tower. Starting to look more like a Depot than a Barn. Not that many barns have 3 chimneys.

Roof detail

2010-10-21T12:52:00.000-07:00

The original trim has been removed and a wood fillet put in. This will allow the roofer a straight edge to work from. The original roof was nailed initially into the trim. Not such a good idea and not something sold enough after 130 years to be done again.

I chose this photograph because of the bird.

Another view of our dry stack.

2010-10-21T11:46:00.000-07:00

A bit more definition but you can see how it steps out and comes back in.

North Extension Chimney

2010-10-21T11:39:00.000-07:00

Keen eyes will see the roughness of the finish. Less apparent until you get up there and see is that the chimney is nearly square. Perhaps they were asked to build a chimney with a bigger flue? This was built one or two winters after the previous chimneys.

New Chimney

2010-10-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

Bob, for scale purposes, next to our dry stack of the Addition Chimney. This was nearly square as opposed to the other two which are more rectangular. The base came above the ridge line, then returned to 2x2.5, then flared out for 3 rows with 2 rows on top.

The actual build will be slightly higher due to mortar joints. We will put a removable cap on painted black to keep the water out.

Freight Room Chimney

2010-10-21T11:03:00.000-07:00

This is the only one that can be seen clearly.

If you look at the bottom right and left where the brick rests on the shelf you can see the original white of the mortar where the top layer has broken away.

Brick sample

2010-10-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

One of the requirements for the mason is to build a sample wall with the mortar mix and finish.

This looks very white, but it is the original colour, grime of ages has changed the top layer, as will it change this.

Unsurprisingly the chimney in the extension was built to the same standards as the extension, not very good. So the finish on the joints here will be a little rougher.

Chimneys

2010-10-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

We are now into the Chimney rebuilding phase, here is one of the beeter photographs that we can clearly dates of what they looked like at in 1896. The ruins in th foreground are the Pacific Hotel.

Wildlife and the Roundhouse

2010-09-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

Birds do not usually get so big around here, an Emu in Como.

Leaves

2010-09-11T15:37:00.000-07:00

Just for a change here is a photo looking north from Como, the leaves are tuning.

Supports underneath

2010-09-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

Old wood for new supports. The electrical cable is not original!, when we rewired the Hotel we made provision for a supply to the Depot.

External view of north extension.

2010-09-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Sun going down over a sunny day in South Park, the Roof is now as straight as it ever was.

Roof work

2010-09-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

The north section shows the new and old wood, We now have a structurally solid framework for the re-roofing.

Paint

2010-09-01T18:31:00.000-07:00

An interesting shot showing the few paint elements on the building. The light grey and mid green are the original colours, the dark green and red are from the 1920's when the Depot was painted in the Burlington scheme.

East Inside corner

2010-09-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

East Side, North Extension

2010-09-01T16:50:00.000-07:00

This photograph clearly shows the vertical gap and the need for vertical posts rather than horizontal beams.

Pad Supports for North Extension

2010-09-01T16:42:00.000-07:00

The extension that forms part of the L extended over lower levels. The original wooden supports went into the groud. The part in contact with the dirt had rotted away over the 130 years. The wood is much better quality than can be obtained now so will be reused but this time onto a concrete pad support.

North West Corner Support

2010-09-01T16:38:00.000-07:00

New timbers placed on gravel based as per the original. This will all be hidden by the siding, eventually.

Men at Work

2010-08-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

More men at work, in this photo the temporary roofing is being removed and new wood being put in to replace/strentghen missing or deteriorated beams and bracing..

Battery Room?

2010-08-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

These two photographs show the small room behind the Agents Office. Whilst we can not be certain, the 'waxed' paper and battery terminals suggest that this was used for the storage of the batteries used to power the telegraph. The power output of batteries at the time was very low, so they needed a lot of them, possible 100. They would have looked like mason jars filled with acid and a cathode and anode.

Historical Photographs

2010-08-17T15:59:00.000-07:00

We have no definitive early photograph of the Depot. This is one of my favourites. Taken from the south it shows a train arriving from Boreas, but presumably not the one the child is waiting for. Note the platform suggesting that this is pre 1910.

Summer 2008

2010-08-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

For reference this shows the Depot in the summer of 2008 after volunteers had propped it and put in the temporary supports.

Our initial problem

2010-08-17T15:44:00.000-07:00

This phptpgraph shows the original outside wall, the extension to form the current 'L' was added very soon after. When the ceiling came off last week it was clear that the ledger had detached and there was some concern the whole extension would follow. Older than Dirt held the building together with 2 cables running north to south. And then winched it together using come alongs. Simple, but effective.

Agent's Office

2010-08-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Agents Office from the back. In front is the hardwood post anchored with a rail that used to hold the station clock.
The mechanism to the right of the window controlled the signal (technical term Train Order Board), the Telegrpah Machine was to the left of the window.

Getting the building straight

2010-08-17T15:35:00.000-07:00

This photo is interesting because it shows how much the building has had to move. The horizontal paint line to the right of the window was about 3 inches adrift vertically and now lines up. In the process the 2 inch or so vertical gap has been closed.

Foundations

2010-08-17T15:32:00.000-07:00

Older than Dirt at work, the extension hanging in the air.

North East Corner

2010-08-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

The cribbing is holding the building following the removal of the corner post.