Way back when- about 1988 or'89 as I recall, there was an antique engine club that inquired about the pump engine at Lava. The details are a little fuzzy by now but here is what I think I recall about it.
They were a group from the somewhere in southern Colorado. They got permission from the Comission to remove the pump engine for restoration and safe keeping. It was a loan, not a gift or theft. I have no idea what ever became of this arrangement or for certain it ever came to pass at all. I have never seen the engine since it was removed.
I think it was a Fairbanks Morris 10 or 15 HP similar to the one in the Coal tipple in Chama.
Rumor has it that it was still operable in 1970 when the C&TS began operation and may even have been run once. Someone told me that the pipeline up to the tank was in pretty bad shape though.
For what it is worth, that is what I can remember about it. I won't argue with anyone who tells me that any of this is incorrect, because I might have it all wrong! I do have a picture of the pump when it was still in place at Lave taken in the summer of 1978. I will try to dig it out and post it.
Hope this helps.
Russ