Skull Valley Section House repairs

Needing funds to repair roof on Railroad Section House.  The roof has asbestos in the roofing, so the complete roof must be removed and replaced.  Buildings are located in Skull Valley, Arizona.

Years ago the railroads divided their lines into “Sections”, with so many miles of rail in each section. These areas were overseen by a “Section Boss”. It was his responsibility to keep the railway bed and rail in repair at all times. In the remote areas of Arizona, the railroad companies supplied these crew bosses with homes.

Santa Fe built a house a Rams Gate in 1925 for just that purpose. Rams Gate is nestled in the foothills between Skull Valley and Prescott. The section boss and crew worked the rails between those two towns.

When Santa Fe discontinued the rail service to Prescott, they had the house moved to Skull Valley on July 28, 1953. The move was accomplished by cutting the building down the center, loading it on flatcars, and bringing it down the mountain by rail. It was then reassembled and set up to the west of its present location.

The section cred continued to use this building until 1990 when the railroad decided to retire it. The Skull Valley Historical Society purchased the building from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad on February 9, 1990, and moved it to its present location to be used as a museum along with the railroad depot.