In 1880, the Durango Trust Company laid out Durango with a downtown business district and a residential area defined by “the Boulevard,” an area of fashionable homes and churches with a tree-lined median strip. The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad hoped to create a cornerstone for its southwest Colorado ventures. After negotiations for a depot in Animas City failed, the railroad selected a depot site about two miles south and formed the community of Durango. Railroad representative Dr. William Bell organized the Durango Trust Company and purchased the first 160-acre tract for the proposed town site for $500. The hastily constructed Denver & Rio Grande Railroad route from Alamosa to Durango was completed in 1881 before pushing on toward Silverton. Other railroad lines connected to Durango included the Rio Grande Southern, which served the Telluride and Rico areas, and a branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad known as the Red Apple Flyer, which served the agricultural areas of Farmington, New Mexico. Today, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, one of the two surviving sections of the narrow gauge rail system, gives visitors an unforgettable glimpse of the past.