Among a total of 1700 pieces of rolling stock ordered from the St. Louis-based American Car & Foundry in 1904 were 750 boxcars that would become one of the most reliable and identifiable narrow gauge freight car classes to ply the three-foot rails of Colorado.
By 1924, over two decades of heavy service was evident as the 3000 Series fleet begged for replacement or repair. Now re-named as the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, the company accountants found tax burden relief by rebuilding the existing boxcars over the option of placing an order for new cars. The cars were stripped of much of the wood while the hardware and trucks were re-used to construct relatively new cars. As rebuilt, the boxcars were equipped with sheet metal Murphy roofs while the side and end doors on many were upgraded with Camel hardware. Some of the cars were equipped with a relatively sparse door, hasp and door guide design compared to that of the Camel hardware equipped models. These versions have come to be known as the “economy door" boxcars. By the late 1960s, approximately 20 percent of the surviving 3000 series boxcars were identified as being of the economy door design. The term “plain door” boxcar has also been used to describe this special sub class. Today, many of these boxcars survive in limited service on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.
