Re: 493 on Chama turn, DAY 2, 52 years ago today 11-22-67
| November 21, 2019 10:43PM |
Fireman Stanley Smith has his fire just where he wants it....time to sit down for a stretch
At Cumbres 493 picked up the 7 loads left earlier and prepared to head for Alamosa with 12 loads of lumber and the caboose, as well as with two stowaways - my brother and another railfan whose name I don't remember now. With my brother heading for work in Trieste, Italy, shortly, this seemed likely his only opportunity to see the Toltec Gorge route before it was abandoned. Since this was sure to be a pretty chilly adventure, I gave him my yellow hoodie to wear under his jacket, figuring the VW beetle had a heater, not great but sure better than an open flat car. I also gave him my camera loaded with black-and-white film, while I retained the 8mm movie camera, so the following sequences will be a mix of both.
Before climbing on to a flat car, there was an understanding with the crew. The crew didn't want riders coming into Alamosa, and the riders had no wish to spend the last hour of the ride in the dark exposed to a 30 mile per hour rush of air in the freezing cold. So the crew agreed to stop in Antonito to let the riders off to their respective drivers. This was a detail I had overlooked on my bulk head flat car ride to Chama in August 1966. Only Stanley Smith and engineer Ken Faucette had saved me from the predicament of riding a flat car all the way to Alamosa, 28 miles from my car, by giving me a cab ride on 483.
The two riders are on the train as 493 and 13 cars round Tanglefoot Curve
Wolf took these photos as the train approached Apache crossing
Wolf's companion on the adventure. Neither of us can recall his name after all these years. Maybe he will watch the NGDF ……?
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2019 05:30PM by Olaf Rasmussen.
At Cumbres 493 picked up the 7 loads left earlier and prepared to head for Alamosa with 12 loads of lumber and the caboose, as well as with two stowaways - my brother and another railfan whose name I don't remember now. With my brother heading for work in Trieste, Italy, shortly, this seemed likely his only opportunity to see the Toltec Gorge route before it was abandoned. Since this was sure to be a pretty chilly adventure, I gave him my yellow hoodie to wear under his jacket, figuring the VW beetle had a heater, not great but sure better than an open flat car. I also gave him my camera loaded with black-and-white film, while I retained the 8mm movie camera, so the following sequences will be a mix of both.
Before climbing on to a flat car, there was an understanding with the crew. The crew didn't want riders coming into Alamosa, and the riders had no wish to spend the last hour of the ride in the dark exposed to a 30 mile per hour rush of air in the freezing cold. So the crew agreed to stop in Antonito to let the riders off to their respective drivers. This was a detail I had overlooked on my bulk head flat car ride to Chama in August 1966. Only Stanley Smith and engineer Ken Faucette had saved me from the predicament of riding a flat car all the way to Alamosa, 28 miles from my car, by giving me a cab ride on 483.
The two riders are on the train as 493 and 13 cars round Tanglefoot Curve
Wolf took these photos as the train approached Apache crossing
Wolf's companion on the adventure. Neither of us can recall his name after all these years. Maybe he will watch the NGDF ……?
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/22/2019 05:30PM by Olaf Rasmussen.
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
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