Re: Current Chama Question

Rich Murray Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Maury Ballstein Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Maybe they're getting ready to move some
> equipment
> > around for a future rotary run? Keep an eye on
> the
> > webcams!
>
> I seriously doubt a rotary run at this point as
> there are many layers of ice in that snow cover.

Not only that, but the rotary has been sitting in the yard for several years since the last evaluation of it was done. I have to believe that if the railroad intended to run the rotary this spring, it would have been in the shop for some time now and that some testing would have been done. The State Boiler Inspector would also have to certify the boiler. I don't believe it has been steamed in at least 22 years.

A rotary operation would require some significant preparation. When I went to White Pass in 2011, it was clear that they didn't just pull the rotary off the display track and fire it up. The run was in April, and they had been planning the operation since at least the previous November. The Skagway shops had clearly gone over all of the hardware with a fine-tooth comb over the winter. The preparation clearly paid off. They ran that thing as hard as it ever ran back in the day, in snow that was like concrete and extremely deep, and never broke a thing in 4 straight days of operation.

White Pass Rotary

I would love to see OY in action on the C&TS, but I don't believe for a New York second that it's something the railroad would ever consider doing on short notice.

/Kevin Madore