Holcomb, KS |
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 | The Holcomb, KS
depot has enjoyed an itinerant career. It began life in 1908 at Hasty, CO as one of several
pre-1910 16x40 #1 branch line standard depots built along on the Arkansas Valley branch lines
in Colorado. The Hasty depot was also one of at least three of these depots that was
ultimately moved south to a station on the main line. The depot was moved to Holcomb, KS in 1910,
and over the next 63 years it saw numerous modifications. The freight room was extended by
14 feet in 1917, and in 1963, 7 feet of the waiting room end was removed. The 1971 photo
above by Frank Ellington shows the depot in its final form (on the Santa Fe anyway). Note
the square piece of metal above the center window of the bay; this is where the paddle-style
train order signal had been attached when the depot was built at Hasty.
The Holcomb depot was retired in 1973. How it spent the 70's and 80's is unknown, but by 1990, it had been acquired by the Dodge City Ford & Bucklin, a tourist railroad that operated the former Rock Island branch line between its namesake cities. The depot was to have been the DCF&B's Bucklin station, and the 1990 photos at left show the station on its new foundation with renovations underway. |
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 | Unfortunately, the renovations were never completed, and this January 3, 2005 photo by Mary Watts shows the depot in a serious state of decay. In 2000, the DCF&B sold its line to a freight operator who had no interest in continuing the excursion trains. The depot was subsequently acquired by the Guthrie Arts & Humanities Council, which plans to move it to Guthrie, OK and restore it for use in connection with their planned excursion train. |
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