Happy Birthday.......... *PIC*

.....to retired D&RGW hoghead Eldon Morgan. Today is his 80th birthday. Eldon hired out in Oct, 1946 and retired in May, 1985. He spent most of his working life in Alamosa, but during slow times he worked for the Colorado & Wyoming in Pueblo during 1954 and worked for a month or two in Durango in 1958. As a fireman he frequently caught the "San Juan" off the extra board and fired it during the last last week of its existance. As a fireman he also fired most of the classes of standard gauge steam.
Promoted to engineer in 1955 he didn't get much of a chance to run until the early 1960's when many of the old heads began to retire. Eldon was quite a good engineer and an expert with a brake valve. Groups running charter trains would request him as thier engineer. He served as local chairman for the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen and fought against the abandonment of the narrow gauge west of Alamosa. He is very proud of all of us who keep (and kept) the narrow gauge alive today.
Eldon is one of the last steam railroaders on the planet. He is also one of the nicest guys around.
Happy birthday, young man.
Photo is Eldon starting down from Cumbres after helping the last revenue westbound from Alamosa.
..photo stolen without remorse from Russ Sperry..