Re: Last ng stock trains separated Sheep from Goats by only a day or two

Fritz Klinke Wrote:
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> Actually, the last stock train operated im-
> mediately after the Kolor Karavan, if I can
> recall correctly. The empty cars came over
> the Monday right after the Karavan. And then
> the stock was loaded Tuesday morning and
> as soon as the train was ready, including the
> flat cars loaded with Chama lumber, it headed
> up Cumbres with 2 engines. Prior to boarding
> the Karavan in Alamosa, we had noted the
> string of stock cars getting serviced--things
> like replacement supports for a few missing
> roof walks. Since I had the following 2 weeks
> free, I stayed to chase the stock extra as
> most everyone else headed home.


Thanks again for the details and date corrections, Fritz!

Although you and I were among the old goats on the Karavan, we weren't (yet) old goats ourselves.  I was only 24 at the time, and spry enough to spend about 90-95% of the entire three days standing in the front corner of the open gon. We probably met on that trip, but lost touch for a few decades - I'm glad we have gotten re-acquainted over the past ten years or so.  I couldn't stick around after the Karavan, as I was only about three weeks into a new job teaching chemistry at Venice High in L.A. I went home "sick" on Thursday afternoon, September 29 (a bad case of Foameritis, IIRC), and flew from L.A. to Denver that evening.  Keith Kirby & Roger Callender met me at the airport,* and we drove down to Alamosa that night. While a substitute teacher took over my classes on Friday, we were on board the Karavan en route to Durango.  IIRC, there were so many slow orders on the RR by that time that we were only a short way beyond Arboles when the sun went down.  I was a beautiful evening with a nearly full moon and a few light clouds, and one of the passengers had brought her guitar and was playing a lot of familiar ballads out in the open gon as we rolled through the farmlands and meadows around Tiffany and Ignacio.  On the return trip Sunday night we got off in La Jara - where we had boarded the train on Friday - and raced back to the airport just in time for my return flight to L.A.  By 8:00 Monday morning October 3rd - while you were chasing empty stock cars west over Cumbres - I was back at Venice High, keeping my classes under control by threatening to sing at them if they didn't behave . . .    

- Roosso

*  IIRC, Keith was President of the Rocky Club sometime in the early nineties and Roger followed in his footsteps a few years later.