Re: Dem Damn Diamond Stacks . . . and other Movie Madness -

guymonmd Wrote:
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> Why were (and are) the diamond stacks that the
> D&RGW put on the k-28's so hated?

Herb Kelsey Wrote:
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> The lunacy of trying to make a 1923 locomotive
> look like an 1880 locomotive was I think the
> driving force for the diamond-stack-hatred thing.
> That and the fact that the tall straight stack was
> a critical aesthetic component of the whole "sport
> model" designation (a 1920's "23 Skidoo," top-
> down-roadster kind of thing) for these engines.
> Aesthetically, the fat clunky diamond stack
> destroyed that whole "sport model" look.

Way to hit the nail on its loony head, Herb — æsthetically speaking, that is.

John West Wrote:
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> About all I can add to Herb's comment is the
> lunacy part was because it was so obviously fake.
> But remember the audience at the time was poppy
> pickers not us.  And ironically with the passage
> of time and the disappearance of the real DRGW
> n.g. the obviously fake stacks have achieved some
> historic novelty acceptance, much like the bumble-
> bee paint job and the Grand Gold coaching stock.
> I'm glad I got some pix of the diamonds when I did,
> although I was less thrilled at the time.

Lunacy is in the eye of the beholder, John.  Or the bumblebee holder . . .    

Chris Walker Wrote:
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> The day ALCo hung that cross-compound on the
> front of the smokebox destroyed everything relating
> to the philosophy of aesthetics.

Just like slathering Marmite or Vegemite on a golden piece of toast destroys everything relating to the philosophy of ascetic taste.

Kelly Anderson Wrote:
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> The best comparison I've heard is that the dia-
> mond stacks are equivalent to trying to back-date
> a classic Mustang by hanging brass headlights
> and a brass radiator on it from a 1910 Model T.

AMEN, Kelly — and that applies to movie locos in general, not just the K-28s.

Dan Markoff Wrote:
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> Just in case anyone needs a reminder of what a
> large stack is supposed to look like and on what
> type of locomotive. . . . here it is. OK it isn't a
> diamond . It's a Radley Hunter. But it is legit to
> the locomotive and the period

Beautiful photo of a beautiful locomotive!

TonyK375 Wrote:
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> Rolling work of art!

Marowicz Wrote:
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> . . . and one of the nicest looking stacks of all.
> But as you say, relevant to the locomotive and its
> period and would look pants on a K-28.  Anyone
> for a spot of Photoshop to prove the point?

No need for PhotoShop, Mark — the Rio Grande did it for real, more or less, back in 1968.  Here's a re-post of Ernie Robart's photo of #473 in her Hollyweird make-up for 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid':

Photo Copyright © 1968, 2008 by Ernest W. Robart - All Rights Reserved.

Jerry474 Wrote:
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> I am one of the diamond stack haters and I echo
> the comments about trying to make a K28 look like
> an 1880 locomotive. I am not a fan of the cinder
> catchers currently used on the D&S. It was great
> to see 476 run a couple of days without one. But
> having seen a fire started by 473 just north of my
> home, I understand the need for them.
>
> When the K36 book is complete (soon) I will start
> on the K28 book.  A D&S engineer asked me if I
> would include the diamond stacks in the book and
> I told him that I had to, it is part of the history . . .


I know what you mean, Jerry -

Some of us got a lot of static for reproducing history – as best we could, anyway – back in 2010 when we got #489 repainted with a dark olive Moffat Green jacket to commemorate her trip over Poncha Pass back in 1950:




And speaking of hideous movie make-up, we got a lot more static for repainting #487 as a stand-in for #483 as she appeared in 1970 when the first C&TS train arrived in Chama.  Of course #489 – sans plow – would have been our first choice, but she was based at Cumbres that summer, on the far side of an impassable bridge. . .    

Photo Copyright © 1970, 2010 by Ernest W. Robart - All Rights Reserved.



Let us all now give thanks for the fact that both fake diamond stacks and hideous paint are easily removed!!

- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/21/2018 11:20AM by Russo Loco.