The Leadville depot was almost supplanted for a gazebo

We take it for granted that the Leadville, Colorado & Southern would logically sell tickets and board trains out of the original C&S Leadville depot, but it didn’t start out this way.  In fact, it was the source of an argument between the purchasers of the line, Ken and Stephanie Olsen.

While the Olsens got a heck of a deal, acquiring the railroad, roundhouse, and equipment for $10, plenty of other expenses, such as refurbishing the line and modifying freight cars to carry passengers, made getting their hands on the depot out of the budget.  Instead the plan was to build a gazebo near the roundhouse for boarding purposes.

Late one night, though, an argument ensued between Ken and Stephanie, with Ken making the case that getting ahold of the depot was truly necessary.  In the words of Stephanie, “‘He was adamant that we had to do it.’”  Ken won this tussle and by early spring in 1988, the Leadville depot officially became part of the new Leadville, Colorado & Southern.  After the depot’s renovation and installing track panels across two platforms, passenger trains began boarding at the C&S Leadville station for the first time since 1937.

Source:
"The Leadville Train: 25 Years of Family Tradition!" by Kathy Bedell, Leadville Today, 25 August 2013.