Parker Depot - Parker, CO
N 39° 30.990 W 104° 45.760
13S E 520401 N 4374122
This depot serviced the town of Parker along the Denver & New Orleans Railroad from 1882 to 1936.
Waymark Code: WMGE9K
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 02/21/2013
Views: 8
The Denver & New Orleans Railroad was a short-lived rail line that ran between Denver and Pueblo. The goal of the project was to connect with the Fort Worth and Denver City R.R. that in turn linked up with rail lines to New Orleans. Construction on the D&NO began in 1881, spearheaded by John Evans (2nd governor of Colorado Territory). The line reached Parker by the end of November 1881 and regular service between Denver and Pueblo began in April, 1882. For 10 cents, residents of Parker could ride the train to Franktown. They affectionately dubbed the train "Polly" because it wiggled slowly up and down the line, resembling a polliwog.
[visit link] In 1885, the Denver & New Orleans was renamed the Denver, Texas & Gulf Company. The railroad finally connected Denver to New Orleans in 1888 under the name of the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth Railroad (later incorporated into the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf Railway).
Parker was the site of a helper engine which assisted trains up the 2% grade seven miles to Hilltop (formerly Bellview) - the steepest section of the line. Just south of Parker the tracks crossed a 378 foot trestle over Sulphur Gulch, where a few pylons can still be spotted. Due to floods which constantly washed out trestles and rail beds, the line was abandoned in 1936.
The depot now serves as office space and houses the Denver & New Orleans Railroad Club which operates a model railroad in the basement. The depot has several relics for railfans including an orange Rio Grande caboose, a semaphore signal and RR crossing signal. The business directory is even laid out in the format of a time table.
Source: Parker Area Historical Society