I stumbled upon this collection of rusty tubs in the foothills of some mountains near Tucson.
As it turns out, they are actually coal-cars for an old railroad line - the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad out of Colorado. The line was established in the 1880s, appropriated by the federal government during both WWI and WWII for the war efforts, was named an historic landmark in the 1960s, and now operates in a museum capacity.
(see D&SNGRR)
An example of a coal-car and associated 480 series locomotive in a stock photo.
Standing on top of the abandoned car, looking down into the interior compartment. The small structure on the back of the car in the previous photo looks like it might have been placed over this opening - would have to revisit and measure to be certain.
There were four coal-cars altogether. The far one in this picture still has old railroad tracks emerging from underneath the front end.
This one still has extra wooden rails along the coal bin.
It's a mystery to me how they ended up here in Arizona. There is no record I could find that the line ever operated this far south of Colorado. A number of nearby mines were operational during WWI and WWII, but none seem large enough to warrant a rail line, much less one from Colorado. Interesting pieces of history, not going away anytime soon.
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