Limon Railroad Depot (Limon Heritage Museum)*
899 1st Street, Limon
The town’s location at the intersection of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, and its designation as a division point on the latter, made Limon an important regional rail center and a major source of local employment. The 1910 wood frame depot is one of only three Rock Island depots in Colorado remaining in their place of operation. Modernized by the Rock Island in the late 1930s, the depot is important for its design adaptions that allowed it to effectively serve and manage traffic at a major rail junction into the 1950s. In 1990, the Mid States Port Authority donated the building to the Limon Heritage Society, and it now serves as a museum.
Source:
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visit link)
My observations:
As I rode up in front of this depot, I noticed a few things that were out of place. First, there was no town around it. This mystery was resolved by a local who told us this section of town was destroyed by a tornado about 20 years ago. Upon investigation, I found it was on June 6, 1990.
The second thing I noticed was the station was further away from the grain elevators than normal. It's likely there was an earlier depot located closer to the grain elevators.
"This eastern Colorado town has roots in the railroad. In 1888, Limon got its start as a work camp for the new Chicago and Rock Island rail line, destined to run from Kansas to Colorado Springs. Limon was named after one of the railroad's original construction foreman. The centrally located city grew quickly, and today remains true to its nickname, Hub City. Five highways intersect here, and Limon lies about equidistant from Denver and Colorado Springs. "
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visit link)
Westward, it connected to Denver and Colorado Springs. Eastward, it had routes that went to Omaha and Kansas City. This pattern of two routes coming to a nexus and then spreading out again is repeated along a line heading south in Ft. Morgan directly to the North and La Junta directly to the south.
I've found it's important to look at the total rail system to place the importance of each depot. Small towns grew along single tracks. Larger towns along points where lines crossed. It's also fun to look at the evolution of towns after a road went through. The busy part moved away from the station and often a line of motels lined the road. Those that didn't build motels became frozen in time. Limon has become a stop along Route 70 with a variety of motels, gas stations and restaurants.
The station itself has an unusual design. Usually there are windows on the side facing the tracks so the trains can be seen coming from two directions. This station has a window in the corner that seems well positioned to see down two tracks. The one running parallel to the back of the station has been mostly removed, but there are historical cars on on some remaining track. The bed is still there showing how the track used to be that went off towards Colorado Springs following the Big Sandy Creek.
The museum probably would have resolved most of the mysteries, but it was closed.