Opening Day for the D&S May 23, 1981

I was going to tag these on to Dick Bell's thread, but decided to start my own. May of 1981 found me getting settled into my new job with the C&TS in Chama. Memorial Day weekend was coming up, while the C&TS did not open for a couple more weeks, the weekend would make history for the public debut of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. In talking with some of my new fellow employees, most weren't interested in going over to see the event. Eventually Rich Braden said he might go, and eventually decided to hitch a ride with me. So, early that morning, I picked up Rich in my Jeep and off we went to Durangoland.

Sitting next to the coal dock was 476 and 473, power for today's train


Having never seen a diamond stack-less K28 was certainly a treat. 476 and 473 proudly stomp out of town with the 15-car train.


North of town the train paddles through the willows. Off to the left is a tie tamper that the D&S would trade to the C&TS for two nice pipe gondolas. The gons were made into open cars for the passenger trains and made the D&S lots of money. To my knowledge the tamper never tamped a single tie....


Through, Hermosa and up the hill. Someday, I will learn about that damned tree on the outside of this curve......


Climbing above Shalona Lake along Elbert Creek..

As you can see the repainting of 476 and 473 was pretty much limited to painting the tender black and doing a quick lettering job. Some cars were lettered "DURANGO & SILVERTON", others had no lettering.