Re: 487 in 1970

The pipe was removed when 487 was put into service in 1973 or so. In this case, I cannot see a need to have the compressor exhaust go up the back of the stack. This is done on smaller engines and also oil fired engines to remove the draft up the stack when the engine is drifting. Oil burners when drifting or stopped keep a low fire and the air pump exhaust creates a draft that could put cold air into the firebox. Coal burners with a bed of fire in them all the time have less troubles with this.

No one I asked in Alamosa knew why it was done. What is odd is the original exhaust line into the saddle remained also, so the A.C.exhaust went up the back of the stack and into the saddle, unless the saddle line was somehow blanked off.

Another oddity with the 487 shown in the pic that is not very obvious is that in the 1960's, she was fitted with a Simplex lifting injector on the left side. This is the same injector the 490's carry. Why? Don't know.. No one in Alamosa seems to remember either. It stayed on 487 until the spring of 1978 when it was changed to a standard Hancock HNL non-lifting inspirator. The Hancock and all the associated plumbing were lifted from the recently retired 483. I found no one on the C&TS back then who had any good words to say about the Simplex on 487.