The time is near for the vintage passenger and MOW cars that used to be stored at the Union Pacific Burnham Shops. These cars, which can be seen in photos 413951 and 591196 were owned by Marcus Rail and were stored at the yard along with a crane car and a DRGW GP30. The UP closed the massive Burnham complex, located in central Denver, in 2016 when the UP decided to relocated its shop operations to Nebraska. The property was also prime real estate for the development of a light rail transit stop with commercial shops and condos. The pending renovation of the former grounds, combined with the increased vandalism these cars endured (see photo 643072), required that the vintage cars be either moved or scrapped. DRGX 631 has recently been moved to the UP’s North Yard and by the looks of it, appears to be relocating hopefully to a home intending on preserving this historic piece. The all steel DRGX 631 was built in 1930 by the American Car and Foundry Company as a baggage and mail car and was later used as a tool car in conjunction with a work Derrick located in Denver. It was listed in 1999 on the State Historic Register as an example of a 1930’s Baggage-RPO. While the other cars that were in the Marcus Rail collection may be scrapped soon, hopefully this one will survive.
