Re: Rio Grande narrow gauge freight traffic May 29 to July 12, 1967

THANK YOU for these fascinating details of day-to-day operations, Olaf -

I found the long comment regarding July 5, 1967, especially interesting, as a few years ago Ernie had mentioned that day as being unusually troublesome and had sent me a couple of slides to scan for him along with several others from different days.  Here's the eastbound train on 07/05/67 passing the siding at Falfa:

Photo copyright 1967, 2012 by Ernest W. Robart - All Rights Reserved.

Several hours later Ernie caught the same train on the long pull between La Boca and Tiffany:

Photo copyright 1967, 2012 by Ernest W. Robart - All Rights Reserved.

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spieser Wrote:
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> Does the first entry show the last time 473 and
> 478 were not on the the Silverton Branch?

#473 and #478 had spent the winter of 1966-67 in Alamosa, and were returning the Silverton cars that had been used on the last Kiwanis Club excursion the previous autumn to Durango.  In prior years, this would have happened two days earlier as the first day of the Rocky Club's annual Memorial Day charter, but the Rio Grande refused to run any more charters after 1966.

Olaf Rasmussen Wrote:
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> 473, 476, and 478 all received maintenance work
> in Alamosa after June 1967, so they all had runs
> over the ng main line in the last 18 months.

#476 and #478 worked their way over to Alamosa in the fall of 1967,* did a break-in run to Lava on April 23, 1968 (see [ngdiscussion.net] et seq.) and pulled the so-called 'Mad Dash' freight all the way from Alamosa to Durango in one day on May 28 (see [ngdiscussion.net] et seq.).

John K Wrote:
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> I think 473 was the last westbound ever
> in December of '68.

#473, still wearing her 'Union Pacific #478' make-up from the filming of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' near Durango, passed through Chama on her way to servicing in Alamosa on October 9 & 10, 1968 (see [ngdiscussion.net] and [ngdiscussion.net]).  She returned to Durango pulling the final "hospital" train (including #481) on December 5 & 6, 1968 (see [ngdiscussion.net] et seq.).

- El Abuelo Histœrico, Greengo y Curmudgeoño de los Locomoturas Viejos y Verdes,
aka Der Grossväterlich DünkelOlivGrünDampfKesselMantelLiebHabender

*  (Added 09/30): #476 ran from Durango to Chama on 11/09/67, and then worked as road engine on a Cumbres Turn on 11/10/ before heading on east to Alamosa later that day.  (See [ngdiscussion.net].)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/2020 08:10PM by Russo Loco.