I FOUND THE CALENDAR PICTURE!!!

Here is the picture of the caboose and train!!! I went through my old calendars today and found it.

Scanned from the Sundance Rocky Mountain Railroad Calendar of 1986.

Photo by Al Chione...December Calendar caption follows:

CHRISTMAS ON THE NARROW-GAUGE

WITH THE FRESHLY SHOPPED NO.481 ROLLING DEAD MID-TRAIN, THE 473 PULLS THIS TRAIN INTO THIS HISTORY BOOKS-IT IS THE LAST TRAIN TO LEAVE CHAMA,NEW MEXICO, FOR DURANGO. AN INTERESTING FOOTNOTE TO THIS DECEMBER 1968 PICTURE IS THE CHRISTMAS TREE. IT WAS FELLED BY ALAMOSA BRAKEMAN DENNY CUMMINS AT SUBLETTE AND THE WESTBOUND CREW DELIVERED IT TO HIS MOTHER IN DURANGO.

Train is going through the Chama wye in the picture.

I dug up the old issue of Classic Trains with the tree story today.

Al Chione wrote a full feature account of this train illustrated with many photos in the Winter 2002 Issue of Classic Trains.

In the article here is the quote about the tree: " By the time I got back to Sublette, the train was stopped at the water plug. It was 1PM and everyone was taking a lunch break. Just before leaving, brakeman Denny Cummins cut down a spruce tree, and loaded it on the roof of caboose 0540. He cut this tree for his mother, who lived in Durango. The train left Sublette at 1:45...."

Hope this helps you out,
Larry



Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 04/28/2010 10:30AM by Larry.