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Section Camp
The people who operated and maintained the railroads often lived in Section Camps at remote sites. These camps were established at key locations during the time the railroad was being constructed. Generally, the camps would be near a water source where there was an area of flat land. The spacing between camps was based upon the distance a locomotive could travel on a tank of water and on how far a maintenance crew could travel in a handcart in one day. The camps often attracted additional settlers that did not work for the railroad. Small communities would evolve around the section camps. When the larger locomotives began operation in the mid 1900's the distance they could travel between water and fuel stops increased and therefore many section camps were closed down and abandoned. Four standard buildings types were found at nearly every section camp. First there was a Section House where the crew foreman lived. Next was the Bunk House where the crews slept. Another building would house coal storage facilities and finally a water tank was normally needed. Today, most of the section camp buildings along the railroad have been destroyed. As the D&RG consolidated over the years, the need for the structures ended. It became too expensive to maintain and pay the taxes on these buildings. Therefore the railroad slowly removed most of the original structures.
Section Houses were a center of activity in the remote section camps. The crew foreman and his family normally stayed in the homes. Most meals and other get togethers would take place here for all the railroad workers. There were several rooms in the section houses. Some had additions and modifications to fit particular needs. It was not uncommon for the buildings to start with the same basic rectangular shape. A number of the buildings were actually shipped to the sites in "KIT" form from a wood mill owned by the D&RG. Once the basic kit was assembled, additions were often added. Only minor dimensional changes existed between most standard section houses on the main line.
One of the standard buildings in the section camps was the Bunk House where the crews slept. They were often built from logs and generally divided into three rooms. After entering the structure you would be in a central meeting room while the bunk rooms were on each end.
Another common building found at the section camps was the tool shed. As the name implies, this simple structure housed the tools the workmen used to maintain the tracks along their section.
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