June 30, 1952

Board of Directors
Denver and Southwestern Railroad

Dear Gentlemen,

I am writing to in response to a letter you have received from the D&SW legal counsel, Mr. Matthew Paulson of Austin Texas. Mr. Paulson has, unfortunately, been talking with a disgruntled accountant, a Mr. Farnsworth, whom I had to fire several months ago due to misappropriation of funds. Let me address each of Mr. Paulson’s concerns.

I grew up in the San Juans with a father who developed the D&SW from a struggling little line into a major Rocky Mountain railroad. It is thus not surprising that I have become good friends with many of the current shippers on the line. Although many of the businesses in Ouray, Montrose, Salida and Gunnison seem to be named after my friends, let me assure that these businesses are either run by these friends or they are the major stockholders in the companies. In no case is a business named after someone not involved in the company.
The incident of me taking an engine to Gunnison and riding a tram line is true but the facts behind the visit have been distorted. Mr. Walt Rule, owner of Rule Mines, was having trouble with one of his long tram lines. Mr. Rule knew of my interest and expertise in aerial trams, which includes a published article on Ouray County Trams. He invited me to come and look at his tramline and suggest how to improve its operation. Since we were delivering a large number of ore gondolas to his loading terminal in Gunnison, I road along in the cab of D&SW engine 344. I rode the tram in both directions and, I believe, made suggestions that will greatly improve the tram operation. The engine came back to Ouray with only one box car. Thus, making it appear that the train made the trip just for me to ride a tram.

Finally, Mr. Paulson has criticized my absences from Ouray. As you know, business has been booming and I’ve had to add motive power to both the narrow and standard gauge divisions. One can’t just pick up a phone or send a telegram to purchase used motive power. I needed to go and personally operate each potential engine. This is very time consuming and has taken me from New York to Los Angeles and many points in between. I have added a 2-8-8-2 from Salt Lake City, a GP7 from Los Angeles, an RDC from New York City as well as many additional cars. The railroad has greatly profited by my picking up used equipment that will serve us for many decades.

I hope this clears up the points made in Mr. Paulson’s letter.

Sincerely,

Donald R. Paulson
President and General Manager
Denver abd Southwestern Railroad