St. Elmo Siding & Crew Quarters
Chaffee County
The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad, along with its successors the Denver, Leadville & Gunnison and the Colorado & Southern, faced heavy operating costs, particularly on the Alpine Tunnel District portion of its route.
Boxcar in the snow at St. Elmo Siding.
The reuse of railroad cars as stationery structures provided quick and inexpensive shelter for equipment storage, crew bunkhouses, and even the occasional depot. The Colorado & Southern used the two former box cars on the site for crew quarters and storage from 1908 until 1922.