Re: Flat cars (6200)

The motor in the pipe gon is a spare CAT D-17000 we got to repair the 19. The rest of it looks like some sort of vertical turret lathe with a big table. My guess it was a refugee from the Alamosa back shop that was hauled over to Chama with the idea that it could be used to turn driver tires if there were removed from the centers. Tire turning was big concern in the 1970's and 80's as there was no wheel lathe in Chama. Durango/D&S didn't have one either. The Rio Grande sent its drivers to Burnham for turning. D&S used a machine shop in Farmington to turn tires who a while until they could get a wheel lathe. One of the main reasons 483 and 484 were side lined back then were the tires were condemned by sharp flanges and tread being worn hollow.