Kelly Anderson Wrote:
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> think about it. How close did a seven car
> passenger train take her to her tonnage rating?

Not very I expect.

> What power was used before the #3400's came to
> Alamosa?

That is one of those questions that depends on exact era.
There is a dearth of pictures to provide clues also. This was a night run, after all.
Best guess? Back in the era between the World Wars, probably T-29's or T-28's.
At some point the P-44's(800s) became common and sometimes (later on) M-64's (1700s)
Quite possible that other freight engines (C-48 1000s, C-41 1100s, etc) were used if trains were heavy.
Later years saw 1400s used and I'd not be surprised to hear of 1500's or 1600's showing up.
This was a S-L-O-W run, the Post Office didn't want it getting in much before 6:30 AM and I doubt the passengers would have either so 115/116 took their own sweet time.
Bob Richardson pointed out that D&RGW kept the same timing for the new San Luis day train that replaced it in 1951 and suggested that this was part of why that train was so short-lived. It was only running about 30 mph or so even from Ft Garland to Alamosa.

hank