Re: 497 and 487 Cumbres turn 10-3-67

OC MP62 Wrote:
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> "This was probably the last long train on the
> narrow gauge"
>
> This is probably wrong. The third to last
> westbound freight in June 1968 was a full length
> train. That is the train with two empty tank ends
> on the head flat cars. I have 1200 feet of S8 mm
> movies of the entire trip of this train, except
> W.Ck to Pag Jct. EWR only caught several short
> pieces of it, and raised dust on Arboles
> relocation road during pacing movies, but only for
> a short bit as he saw what his wheels were doing
> and departed to catch it at Florida Tank. Russel
> T. Sharp has 35 mm of the train that have been
> scanned. Richard MaGee has 35 mm of the train, and
> the late Paul Hoffer's 35mm photo that he took are
> lost.

This train departed Ala on 6/13 behind 483 and 493. The consist was one load of tank ends, 7 loads of drill mud, 20 cars of pipe, one dump gon of scoria rock ballast that was set off at Cumbres, and 17 idler flats between the pipe loads. 29 loads, 17 empties, 46 total.

The previous westbound train was on June 4 with 31 loads, 13 empty idlers, 44 cars.

These were the longest trains west in 1968. The rest were in the 25 car range.

As the eastbound from Cumbres to Alamosa on Oct 4, 1967 was 69 cars and the limit was 70 cars. I doubt there was anything longer than that, and Ernie's records show that.

BTW.... 487 was the helper on that train and ran light to Alamosa, 497 was road engine.

The next westbound on Oct 9, 1967 was the longest westbound for the year, and last long westbound forever. They had 37 loads of pipe, drill mud, wall board, and scoria rock, 8 idlers, and 6 empty flats for lumber loading - 50 cars.