Re: Chama Coaling Facilities

Nothing proof wise at Chama but the standard before the turn of the century was to have a raised coal platform adjacent to the tracks. There were remnants of a small example at Osier last time I was there. Men would shovel coal from gondolas onto the platform then shovel coal from the platform into the tenders. Height of the platform was about the height of a car's floor or maybe a foot higher. All up in the air throws! Apparently, during the '80s and '90s there was abundant cheap labor around to transfer coal. As the century turned wages began to increase and a more automated approach was undertaken. Note that the elevated pockets of the early Chama facility(and Alamosa, Sargents, etc. - double units of the same design as the single sided pockets we are familiar with at Vance Jct. and Rico on the RGS) still required men to shovel coal from the cars into the pockets so half the job was automated. The lifting coal tipples with dropbottom gons eventually took the heavy labor out of the mix altogether and substituted machinery for backs.