Re: Rio Grande Work Train

I remember the thing leaked like a sieve when in use. 489's pump ran non-stop trying to keep up. We packed along plenty of valve oil for the air pump lubricator, but we forgot about the little cups on the side of the pump that are filled with air cup oil. Those oil cups easily last a day of normal service but with the pump hammering away all day. They should have been filled at least 3 times a day. The result was a REAL hot air end of the pump (the paint got burned off of it.) I recall we ended up changing it out the next spring.

That pump actually came off 483. It seems no one thought of reworking 489's original pump when she was restored in 1980-1. The pump was hopelessly frozen up when we test fired 489 the first time, so recently retired 483 donated her pump to the cause.

I recall using OU behind steam in the spring of 1982 when Kyle's Kink did it's thing for the first time. In the fall of 83 or so we spent 3-4 days out on the line with 19 and the OU. We had to stop regularly to pump up the air as 19's compresssors could not keep up. That was the last time we used OU when I worked for the C&TS.