Re: 36 cars

Quote
JBWX
And that long train made if from Antonito to Chama with only one hot box and one bad air hose, both of which were quickly repaired by the railroad.

About that hot box: the brass needed to be replaced and there weren't any of the correct size (7x12, I think) aboard the train. We were stopped in the middle of nowhere (on a long tangent just west of Lava), so I figured we were going to spend all morning there and probably delay train 215.

A few of us decided to walk forward to see the hot box ourselves. The crew already had the axle up on a jack and the damaged brass was lying on the ballast. As we were standing there, Marvin came walking down the hill, carrying a replacement brass. Another charter participant saw them coming and asked "Are those guys with the railroad?". Alan Loomis replied "No, they're from Chicago"... which cracked all of us up, even the guy who asked the question.

The crew inserted the replacement brass, dropped the jack and we were off. We were only delayed about an hour, which is amazing considering that the replacement bearing had to be brought out from Antonito.

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Chris Webster