Re: D&RGW 04990

When RGS 0401 was dynamited in 1958, it basicaly blew the carbody off the frame and into little peices. That said, it could have been rebuilt back then. The reduild would not have been that much different than what 04990 just went through; the frame would have been original, the walls, roof and cupola would have been new, using some old parts.

Unfortunetley, the city threw most of the body parts in the dump. One of the cupola seats was saved by a CU professor who was walking by when the city folk were throwing stuff away. He kept it for over 40 years before giving it to me, it is now at the Ridgway Railroad Museum in Ridgway.

0401's frame remained, sitting on trucks, in Central Park until 04990 arrived in 1975. At that point,04990 was placed on 0401's trucks, some parts were salvaged from 0401's frame and the rest was hauled to the dump. 0401's trucks, couplers, draft gear, brake beams and hand brake staffs are presently on or will be installed on 04990. Other parts from 0401, (truss rods, ladders, platform railings, platform steps and other odds and ends) were traded to the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec and are now in use on D&RGW 0579.

I guess there is still quite a bit of RGS 0401 floating around, it is just not in one place.

Jason Midyette