Re: Alamosa October 8 1944

Hi Jimmy,

There’s that “Connors” guy again on the extra 481 west out of Chama.

I checked with my friend (his grandson) again and he said, “The correct spelling is James Richard Connor. However, the family received so much mail with Conner, Connors, and Conners, that they paid little attention to the various spellings.” So don’t feel bad, you got it covered.

I don’t know if anybody is interested but here is another story about Jim Connor. On December 27, 1921, he was the engineer and his brother John was fireman on engine #270. They were returning to Durango after a long day of fighting snow near Silverton. Just north of the High Bridge (south of Tacoma) the locomotive hit a large boulder and went off the steep embankment (more like a cliff) at that location and into the Animas River. John was killed in the wreck and Jim seriously injured. The engine double-heading behind them (# 263) also fell into the river. (That engineer was Louis Johnson. Is that the same Johnson on today’s activity report on the 453 – running light out of Chama? His fireman on the #263 was Ben Hindelang. Is there any record on him? Maybe Charlie McCandless has those records.)I know the site of the wreck fairly well and there is still visible a ramp carved into the embankment where the engines were pulled from the river.

I learned a lot about the Connor family today. For example, how most old time Durango folks knew the family for the Connors’ Dairy they ran in town. Richard did indeed work on the construction of the Silverton Branch and was a section foreman in Hermosa for a time. He and his wife, Julia, had 5 children – Kate, Loretta, James, John and Steve. I have lots more but I won’t bore everybody to death here.

As I’ve said before, thanks for all your hard work.

Larry