Johnson Barr Wrote:
=======================================================
> I agree, John -
>
> That John B.'s decision to cancel the Great
> Locomotive Swap was a prudent one.
> Given road conditions in the area, I wonder how
> many of those planning to attend
> would have gotten to Antonito or Chama safely and
> on time. This time, that is ...
> Like you, I certainly hope there WILL be winter
> ops in the future. I have already be-
> gun to set funds aside to enable participation in
> same. If John C. is successful in
> his efforts to get bearings for the tank car
> trucks, we can look forward to seeing El
> Curmudgeon del Sur's non-Phraudulent photos of a
> snow train + tank car Cumbres
> Turn re-created in the next two or three years!
>
> Since I couldn't attend this time anyway, the
> biggest disappointment from my perspective is that
> I won't be able to "borrow" your best
> Phraud-O-Graph - or Roger's - for use on my
> always-late Christmas Cards this year ...
>
I drove up to Chama on Friday. The roads from Phoenix, AZ to Chama were open, dry and no snow/ice the entire way.
However today we had a good snowfall. Getting out of here today could be much more challenging. So I'm staying put.
Keep in mind things are actually milder in Chama than up top. Also, things drift around higher up. The other problem is grade crossings. NM/CO usually do a good job plowing,salt,etc. However at the grade crossings that slush splatters and builds on the tracks.It then re-freezes at night into a big solid block of ice.
The goal was to have some snow. Looks like mother nature gave us more than we wanted. And agreed, I sure hope there's more winter ops too.