Re: Where do you like to ride

As Edna St. Vincent Millay said "There isn't a train I wouldn't ride no matter where its going." Having said that I will relate one of my favorite experiences. When I first got hired as CMO in Chama in October 1989 I took a cab ride on a double header out of Chama. As I recall 489 was the road engine and 487 was the helper. I rode the cab of the helper to Cumbres and then the road engine to Antonito. After we arrived at Cumbres and the 489 took water I got on board with Earl and we started off towards Los Pinos. We departed Cumbres, made a running air test, and started drifting down toward Apache road crossing. The train was nicely balanced against a light set, the air had that wonderful early October crispness, there was a pleasing scent of coal smoke mixed with the smell of spruce and fir, and the sky was that clear deep blue you could fall into and drown.

As I looked out at the sky from my spot on the apron behind Earl I saw a large hawk making lazy circles just off to the side and ahead of the engine. He stayed in that position for a long time (probably half a mile) as we drifted down grade. I guess he was hoping the engine would scare up a pica or a field mouse or maybe even a rabbit.

I remember thinking "OK god you can take me now it isn't ever going to get any better than this".

Of course it did get better. As time went on we ran rotary trains, night trains, triple headers, three engine freights, and a three engine rotary train. We got the 463 restored after 40 years out of service, and we got to suprise John Craft, John West, Greg Scholl and others by lining up 5 hot engines at the same time.

Such are the things dreams are made of.

John Bush