The only time I ever saw Hermosa used in D&RGW days was the first time I rode in 1967. 473 stopped there headed north (timetable west).
Much later conjecture (like 20 years later) surmises they had recently torn down the Durango Tank and were using a large hose the fill the tender. My guess is either they had a tank of hot water or they got "short tanked" out of Durango.
Hot water is a problem with the engines with the nonlifting injectors. As it is a closed overflow system, any steam leaking back from the starting valve, pops back into the tender. It you are ever around an engine parked occasionally you will hear the steam pop back into the tank hose. If an engine sits too long, you end up with water usable for making tea. Injector physics require cold water and hot steam to work properly.
When I started in Chama back in 1981 we used a garden hose filling the tender overnight and had problems with hot water especially on the upper half of the hill. When we put the Chama tank in service a couple of years later, that problem tended to go away. You had to be carefull not to have the hostlers fill the tenders on the spare engines all the time. That way you'd still end up with a tank of hot water. The best practice was to let whatever engine was outbound the next day sit overnight with a 1/2 a tank and fill it the next AM before the engine was put on the train.
I instructed my crews in thier morning walk around of the engine, to place your hand on the side of the tender on the shady side. If the tank was at all warm, head for the water tank, drop the tank hoses, drain the tank about 1/2 way, button her up and fill the tender. This became imparative after we started running the new steel cars and tonnage went from 200 tons a train to 230-235 tons a train.
The lifting injectors use an open overflow system and any blowby of steam simply goes harmlessly out the overflow - unless the Antonito watchman decided the steam leaking out of the injector was bad and by shutting the overflow valve it stopped - and went back into the tender. Result was 497 and a tank of VERY hot steamy water. We dropped the hoses, but still left town with 125 degree water. Up by the Whiplash, neither injector would start.
We packed water soaked waste around the injectors, hauled ice from the snack car and packed it around the feed pipe. Finally after about 30 minutes of fiddling and 10 minutes of staring at an empty water glass (still had a whisper of water in the bottom tricock). The right side injector fired off.
Needless to say, we didn't shut it off all the way to Sublette. We fired the 497 hard to keep up steam against the injector running constantly wide open and blew her down when the boiler got too full.
The most beautiful sound the world is the sound of injector picking up when you've been staring too long at an empty water glass.....
Man, this response turned too long didn't it?
