Re: Almost 50 years - and still going . . .

John West Wrote:
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> . . .  I was not there for that last train, although I
> chased "the first train of the last year" in May, the
> interesting "mad dash" that ran through with two
> K-28's in a single (long) day.  But the infamous
> Russo was there for the last freight and has the
> pix to prove it . . .


What you mean-um "Infamous", Kemo Sabé?

Despicable, maybe – and definitely, like yourself, Curmudgeonly – but hardly known well enough outside the narrow confines of the NGDF to have earned the honor of being 'infamous'.  As to those last freights you mentioned, I was there partly by design since I visited narrow gauge country nearly every summer during the sixties, but traffic had dwindled on the Rio Grande by 1968 so it was good fortune that my annual trip coincided with action that week.  Also, the D&RGW in recent years had been running to Chama on Mondays & Thursdays, back to Alamosa and Durango on Tuesdays & Fridays, and then to Farmington on Wednesdays & Saturdays, so it WAS sheer good fortune that I called the dispatcher on Tuesday while visiting friends in Denver to see if there would be any action on Thursday that week.  "Yep. Tomorrow. Get yer ass down there 'cause it's the last one. CLICK."  So I hopped in my car on Tuesday evening in Denver and got my ass through a heavy rain down to Alamosa by Wednesday morning.  Fortunately the rain cleared, and the resulting pics are on The Friends' photo gallery at [ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com].  There is one minor error – the picture they posted eighth, mis-captioned as "entering Antonito" – should be the sixth one, and captioned as "departing Alamosa".   Ernie Robart was there too – shooting mostly b&w, IIRC, and Olaf Rasmussen shooting video. (Olaf's VW is in the sixth photo, on the three-rail raceway between Alamosa & Antonito, which is actually the seventh shot in the series.)

Dang, it feels more like only twenty years ago, not almost fifty.  I guess we're not whipper-snappers any more, John!

- Roosso

p.s.   A few of John's photos of the Mad Dash can be seen at [ngdiscussion.net].

pps.  I just noticed that the 15th and 16th photos are also swapped;  the going-away shot with the brakeman on top of the cars – "Slippery Footing" – should follow the head-on view of #483 & #484 departing Sublette in a light drizzle.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2017 05:43PM by Russo Loco.