Remembering Ernie - 493 and 497 east of Gato

On July 11, 1967 Ernie followed 493 and 497 with a heavy freight from Chama to Durango. The two engines were hauling 21 box cars of drill mud, 18 loads of pipe, 10 idler flats and the caboose, for a total of 50 cars. As was normal practice, 493 ran light Chama to Durango, and helped 497 from Gato to Falfa. What was raising eyebrows was that 497 was the road engine on her first run from Alamosa to Durango in nearly four years. Her last previous run, Chama to Alamosa, had been on October 7, 1963. The Alamosa shops completed a class lll overhaul in the later part of June, the last overhaul of a K37 engine by the Rio Grande.



Here is the train and consist line-up for the first half of summer 1967, handwritten by our diligent scribe Ernie. Some interesting (challenging) runs, particularly on July 5 with 487 and 483.