Howdy,
As one of the OB crew I for one am glad everyone seems to have had a good time. Sure wish more folks would have come out and bought tickets to support the MOW train. Hope I can answer some questions that have come up on the weekend trip.
The crew arrived in Chama Thursday and waited until the two trains had left then started work on getting OB ready for Saturday's trip. When Cinder Bear trip got back and was put away, the operating company pulled the MOW train down to the station and got it ready for the trip. OB was then separated from the train and we set up the steam line. At that point we could barely get the donkey engine to pull the 2500 pound weight down the mast. Then we tried to raise the mast. All we got for our trouble was a blown gasket. That was it for Thursday.
Friday, the spare engine was in the shop so any work we did had to be done by hand. The clutch assembly was worked on and a new gasket was installed. Because of safety the operating company wanted the steam taken from the bottom of the engine. This is saturated steam so an oiler was made up and placed in OB. A two ton come-along pulled the mast into a horizontal position. We then got the ladder squared away and then the cables that go from the side to the top of the mast set. After that the mast was lowered, also with the come-along.
Saturday the mast went up perfectly. Then we tried to raise the weight for the first time. The weight jammed against the body of OB. At that point we had OB moved to the trestle for a photo op. When that was done Sonni suggested that the ladder that braces the mast be loosened. This worked and the weight slid up the mast and crushed one of the ties at the bottom that is used to guide the pile. Because the clutch has not been used since it was installed it grabbed and when lowering the mast the snatch block under the front of the OB broke and we came close to a mess. Using just the chain attached to the tracks we got the mast down. While trying to get to weight to the travel position I ignored the cable that is used to pull piles up and it jammed under the weight. While the mast was in the air John Engs got OB to turn both right and left with little effort.
So while all the wood in OB is mostly new, the metal is old and needs to be treated very gently. All I have heard is OB will only be use for demonstrations.
And in the end the weight was dropped on the watermelon. Craig took the end that wasn't smashed beyond recognition around to the crowd and I think everyone had a taste. On the way home I forgot to get another watermelon in Antonito. It tasted that good.
Once again thanks for your praise on OB. The team that worked on it are as proud of it as someone with a newborn child.
Cliff Young
