Re: Alamosa/Antonito

Mark,

I worked for a rather inventive auto mechanic during my high school / college years who had stacks of "junk" around his shop. After working there for a while I discovered he had a plan for every piece of that "junk". I watched as he transformed these piles of miscellaneous parts into such things as log splitters, garden tractors, stoves, etc. He also built experimental aircraft in an adjacent shed. He was a former Air Force mechanic, plus he had auto repair experience from Model A's to the then present day (I last worked for him in 1981). I have never seen such a skilled auto mechanic since (he would often listen to an engine for a few minutes, sometimes using a 2 foot long screwdriver like tool with one end on the block and the other at his ear). Ninety percent of the time if he told me to check something, it was the source of the problem! He could tell wrist pin noise from piston slap from loose rod bearings, etc.

My comment was not so much meant to be critical, as I understand it is a working repair facility, but from the non-railfan observers point of view it is not very pretty. Nevertheless, I am sure that when there is a living breathing steam locomotive on the grounds, the attention fades away from the grounds and becomes focused on the train.

Scott Green