Fellows,
The items that you are listing are pertinences that any machine shop could fabricate and are not to difficult to reproduce. The main hulk is the most important part of any rebuild and if a HT is done and it passes it is worth putting back into service. True the running gear has to be in tip top shape too. But 483 still proves to be a beauty to me. You should have seen 487 in 96' I figured she was going to be out for a long time but the Chama Shops did their Miracle work and where is she now. Wow fit to be tied. What a looker.
(This may sound a little aggressive but not meant to be) I think you all need to step back and take a look at what brings in the most money for the railroad. 463 is the common leader of the pack for attention, but the real work horses are 484, 487, 488, and 489. They are what have kept the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic afloat. No wonder the D&S wanted 483 so bad. Do you think that before the D&S made the trade to the Royal Gorge for 486 that they didn’t try some kind of trading for 483? Probably more than ya’ll ever hear of. I would hope that we as a group can look at and understand the value of the K-36 series and see that this is where the future is. Sure the K-37 have some real charisma knowing that they once were standard gauge engines.
(A side note) I worked with a fellow (Name withheld for personal reasons) about 22 years ago, who grew up in Romeo, Colorado. His Father and Grand Father both worked for the Rio Grande as did some of his Uncles at the Alamosa Roundhouse and Shops. His dream was to somehow purchase one of the K-37’s and change it back to a Standard Gauge Locomotive. He was an amazing machinist, welder and painter he ran everything in our shop but concentrated his time on the Bullard’s (vertical lathes) and the old Americans (horizontal lathes). Before the Shops were torn down in Alamosa he made a trip out to try and buy a K-37 but as I was told by him, “they were already destined for other places”. He never got his chance. Well sorta, he past away about 15 years ago. I know he is riding the real thing in his memories of growing up along the San Jaun Extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Western.
Dave
