It was September 1944 and wartime. Good skilled employees were hard to find on the railroads, and the DRGW narrow gauge was no exception. The following letter was sent to Mr. W.B. Heath, who I belive was the Roundhouse (Mechanical)Foreman in Durango, from Mr. R.M. McLean,Chief Mechanical Officer in Denver (Burnham Shops). There was some trouble getting some boiler work done on DRGW #346. The first letter reads as follows:
Burnham
Sept. 22nd, 1944
Mr. W. B. Heath:
As you know, I sent boiler foreman Klipka from Burnham to Durango to see if we could get the work straightened out and moving on engine 346.
I fully understand that the boiler on this engine is not in the best of condition but we are endeavoring to get this engine in condition so we can get four more years of service.
In regard to the new flues which you requested, we do not put new flues in any of our engines. We piece and reset and use secondhand flues and of course some of them are pitted and we have been getting four years service and in some cases 250,000 miles without experiencing any trouble. The only new flues we use is to fill out a set where we do not have any secondhand flues available. After all, you should realize that we could not operate if we were to renew all the parts every time an engine receives classified repairs.
I am wondering what is wrong with you or your boilermaker as I have had so much trouble trying to get the work done on engine 346 and there is evidently something out of line. In the first place this engine was outlawed and set aside at Durango for about three weeks and you did not even let me know that the engine was set aside and I do not believe you would have started the work on this engine if I had not shown up at Durango on July 26th and told you to get started. Then on your M-197 you showed that the engine would be held three months, or until October 31st, and I took it upon myself to advance this date one month which still is altogether too long to take care of the work on this engine.
After you got started on this engine it took you about six weeks to get the interior of the boiler scaled. This was after I had built you part of a new steam dome, had your tires turned, new brasses applied and lateral taken up and flues pieced and all of this material had been returned and was on hand at Durango. Then it was necessary for me to take boiler foreman Taylor from Alamosa to Durango and we made an interior inspection of this boiler and recommenced and had one patch made for the second course, and I allowed you to put on a boilermaker helper and sent a boilermaker from Burnham to assist your boilermaker in taking care of the work on this engine and I am still having considerable trouble in getting the repairs completed.
I also understand that your boilermaker was insisting on laying off and taking the boilermaker which I sent down from Burnahm out on a fishing party and making no effort at all to get the work completed on this engine.
There is certainly something out of line at Durango and I want you to get it straightened out at once. Please advise.
CC W.H. Sagstetter A.E. Rice R. McLean
Mr. Heath's response in Part 2.
P.S. Coker and Johnson should recognize this.
