Re: Alco/GE

I was in Durango for awhile when the 3000 was being tested on the D&RGW. The officer in charge was Lt. Col. John Whitfield who was stationed at Ft. Eustis and there was one, maybe 2 enlisted men in Durango who worked with the engine. While I was there the 3000 made several Durango-Farmington turns in regular freight service. It always had in tow one of the RPO cars that had spare parts, tools, etc. One problem they had was the 3000 derailing in the poor Farmington trackage. Col. Whitfield would make periodic trips to check on the 3000, and in later years, I had some correspondence with him and he visited one time with my family and myself in California on his way to a new rail related assignment in Taiwan. And then as I was about to enter into the Transportation Corps as an officer, I lost track of him.

Whitfield did not wear a uniform when in Durango on his visits when I knew him. In this picture, he had just ridden the Nomad to Silverton on its first trip back in service:[www.flickr.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/26/2017 11:41PM by Fritz Klinke.