Re: #473's funky '4' from '68 . . .

Earl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When 473 got painted in Alamosa in the fall
> of 1968, she got those goofy hand-painted
> cab numbers.  I guess Alamosa had already
> thrown out the proper cab number stencils /
> patterns.
>
> The dent in the tender was from constant
> contact with the front-end loader when coal-
> ing the tender.


Here are two of Ernie's photos taken after #473's visit to the Alamosa shop in October & November 1968, Earl -

A close up taken shortly before she departed with the 'hospital' train on December 5th:

Photo copyright © 1968, 2018 by Ernest W. Robart - All Rights Reserved.

. . .  and a cropped photo of recently-shopped #481 in Chama later that evening:

Photo copyright © 1968, 2018 by Ernest W. Robart - All Rights Reserved.

There's no trace of the dent on #473's tender, probably because she wasn't fueled by a skip-loader 'til sometime after the coaling tower in Durango was torn down.  The '4' on #481 looks much better than #473's, but the serifs on the '1' look a bit stubby to me.  Unlike #473, #481 is also sporting the fireman's side tender logo on her right (i.e. 'wrong') side . . .    

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



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2021 12:58AM by Russo Loco.