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An inch for every foot

Durango man replicates Silverton train depot

Jim DiSanto spends a couple hours a week in his garage/workshop putting together a unique and intricate project – a miniature replica of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot in Silverton.

Piece by piece, DiSanto, a retired Durango resident and model hobbyist, has spent about a year replicating every inch and miniscule detail of the station with precision and care.

In an interview, he didn’t want to use the cliché “It keeps me young,” but in a way, it keeps the retiree active.

“It’s an activity. It’s a hobby,” he said.

Building miniature models has been a longtime hobby, he said. He used to build model airplanes with his two sons when they were younger. In his retirement, he’s taken on other smaller projects, like building a doll house, which DiSanto later donated to Durango Friends of the Arts.

Last year, however, his ambitions got bigger.

With a deep appreciation of Durango and historical railroads, DiSanto brought his wife to Silverton to help him create a blueprint of the facility. He tape-measured the entire building and took detailed photographs. Then, he would be ready to draft the plans, he said. He also has experience in architectural design, so he knew what he was doing.

Typically, miniature models are created on something called a “G-scale,” which calls for using half an inch to every foot (1:24). DiSanto altered the scaling a little bit and decided on an inch to every foot (1:12), he said.

“With a railroad, the bigger the model, the greater the detail,” he said.

Each piece of wood is individually cut and measured. Even the paint is the exact color. DiSanto purchased the colors “Rio Grande Yellow” and “Rio Grande Brown” at a hobby shop in Denver. Luckily for miniature hobbyists, small furniture and accessories are available for just about any project. Paint bottles of various historic railroad stations can be found in their exact colors.

For instance, even pieces of vintage furniture such as pot-belly stoves can be found in various hobby shops. DiSanto purchased the vintage-style accessory from a shop in Atlanta. He even managed to find very thin pieces of wood to replicate the depot’s hardwood floors. The chimney is even made from real brick, he said.

DiSanto’s target date to have the depot finished is August, but he’s well aware it could take more time.

“If you try to rush something like this and you start worrying about time, you’re going to make mistakes,” he cautioned.

Karen Severn, member of the Four Corners Miniatures Club, has been doing miniatures for 30 years. At this point in her life, she said, a lot of the work has become second nature.

Severn, along with the seven other club members, understands the patience it takes to do miniatures. The first step, she said, is to really know what you are doing. You need to figure out what scale you will be using, the tools and materials needed and the measurements of the object you are trying to replicate in order to make it proportional, she said.

“It’s not something you do overnight,” Severn said. “You have to have a passion for doing it because it takes a tremendous amount of patience.”

In November, club members refurbished an old wooden doll house and donated it to the La Plata County Family Center of Durango to be used as a tool to help children cope with home life. The entire project took the women about seven months, Severn said.

The club, which was established in 2006, meets once a month as a way to socialize. Marilyn White started the club.

These projects aren’t for everyone, however, Severn warns.

“You have to be able to see what you are doing. If you have poor eyesight, it will drive you up the wall,” she said.

And, of course, true passion is needed to enjoy this kind of work, she said.

Those who are slightly less artistic will be able to appreciate the beauty and delicacy of DiSanto’s creation. That includes the big man himself, Al Harper, owner of the D&SNGR.

“We are so excited to have a gentleman spend so many man hours and so much of his time on trying to do a replica of this sort of depot is really cool,” Harper said. “I’ve seen pictures of the status of the project. He is an absolute artist. He does tremendous work, and I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to have someone like himself who loves the railroad like we do.”

Once the project is finished, DiSanto will display the miniature at the station’s museum in Silverton.

vguthrie@durangoherald.com



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