Re: June 1968 - no spark arrestors

I don't know all the legalities of the matter but the Rio Grande did use spark arrestors during very dry times to prevent fires. I do believe they would be accountable for any fires they started. I've heard that an engine performs better without a spark arrestor in place whether that is fact or fiction I don't really know, but I think someone will chime in on that. The first couple pics show snow in the background so it may not have been too dry at that point. But from pictures it seems they operated more without spark arrestors than with them. I know the early 40's you'd see them on most of the big K's. Even in 1968 the K-28's had them with their fake stacks. I'll be interested in seeing where this thread goes.

William
aka drgwk37