Sublette is a section station built in 1880 by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad

The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...

 at milepost 306 on its narrow gauge

Narrow gauge

A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...

 San Juan Extension from Antonito, Colorado

Antonito, Colorado

The Town of Antonito is a statutory town located in Conejos County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town's population was 873.-Geography:...

 to Durango, Colorado

Durango, Colorado

The City of Durango is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau said that the city population was 16,887 in 2010 census.-History:...

. When the D&RGW finally abandoned its narrow gauge lines in the late 1960s, two parts of the system were preserved independently: the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad from Antonito to Chama, New Mexico

Chama, New Mexico

Chama is a village in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,199 at the 2000 census. It is a small village, but tourism is starting to help the town's economy .-Geography:...

 (including Sublette), and the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad that operates of track between Durango and Silverton, in the US state of Colorado...

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A section station serves as a base for the crew that maintains the track for the railroad. The buildings on site are a section house for the foreman and his family, two bunkhouses for the section crew, a coal bunker, a speeder

Speeder

A speeder is a maintenance of way motorized vehicle formerly used on railroads around the world by track inspectors and work crews to move quickly to and...

 shed and water tower

Water tower

A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....

. The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec maintain the buildings for the purposes of historic preservation

Historic preservation

Historic preservation is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance...

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