The Silverton Depot bombing, the 416 Fire, and the symbolism of the Train

On a pleasant, late summer’s day in Silverton, Colorado, San Juan County Sheriff Virgil Mason and local business owner Otto Smith sat at one of the outside tables at the Benson Hotel. To temper the harsh, September sunlight, Mason donned his trademark aviator glasses and short-brimmed, felt hat. Smith, under his head of thick, black hair, took long draw…