Auto Woes - a Hindrance or a Stroke of Luck

Like with John West's experiences, car problems can be a major hindrance or they can be a stroke of luck leading to a great and unexpected happening.

The below car problem on June 12, 1964, at the Conejos River bridge, turned into a major hindrance to chasing 473 and the Alamosa - Durango passenger equipment deadhead



As 473 approached at full speed, the right rear tire of my 1949 Mercury was quietly going flat





This ended that chase. Heading over the Cumbres Pass dirt road without a spare tire was not viable option and there was no way to get that tire repaired quickly enough to catch up

Almost exactly a year later - at almost exactly the same place - we had another car problem with exactly the opposite outcome. This time it was a broken pushrod that suddenly started making
worrysome pinging noises while we were chasing 478 with the annual Illini Special near Antonito, on June 8, 1965. The unexpected GREAT outcome was my only ever ride from Durango to Farmington and back.

Two friends and I were making a short trip to Yellowstone in my newly acquired VW beetle before I had to report for my summer job with Mobil Oil in Hobbs, New Mexico. On the way we encountered the Illini excursion in Alamosa and decided to give it a quick chase to Antonito. Near Antonito those pinging noises started suddenly, and we decided to get them checked out at the closest VW dealership, which happened to be in Durango. The dealer wouldn't give us an appointment until late morning on the following day, so we spent the night in Durango. In the morning my friend Leo volunteered to get the car problem resolved while I rode the Illini excursion to Farmington. What a lucky stroke - this turned out to be my only chance ever to ride the Farmington branch - and I owe it all to that 75 cent push rod, and of course to Leo for taking on the car fix. BTW, the broken push rod didn't get replaced until Hobbs. The Durango mechanic simply tightened up that valve, and it temporarily quieted down. In view of the two day delay, we ended up doing things in Colorado instead of pushing on to Yellowstone. Still another excellent adventure.