Re: Request from A&W for a Durango Report

I posted a message earlier this month with regards to Durango. I did not spend much time there, long enough to ride the train and take a few pictures before I left town. The 486 is allegedly supposed to be "unveiled" at the railfest at the end of August. Goose 5 and 2(I think) are supposed to be there as well as Dan Markhoff and the Eureka for the railfest. Not much has changed with regards to the freight cars along the line, they are basically all rotting where they are. The short little spur right as the tracks leave the yard has been ripped out for a new Wells Fargo Bank. The old highway dept(?) bldg. has been torn down for this bank as well. I did mention a bad experience at the museum, the host was not very friendly and did not have much information. They are rotating a cold, operable engine into the museum for display due to not enough stalls for all operable engines. 476 was there July 1, probably still there. Host did not supervise very carefully so my brother & I crawled all over the engine (I can now say I've walked the running boards and lifted the lid on the sand dome of my favorite engine). That is not part of the standard tour. We discussed in my previous post that it would not be too difficult for someone to lift some parts from the 476 due to the lack of supervision. I did not have much time so there is not much else to report. I wish I could've gone to Chama too.