Re: A flying caboose drop at Carbon Junction on October 19, 1960

Apparently these flying drops were standard practice for many years -

Here's a shot taken a few years earlier by Tom Gildersleeve, in which it looks to me like a brakeman is riding the rear of the boxcar trailing the locomotive:

Photo copyright © 1960, 2010 by Thomas Gildersleeve - All Rights Reserved.

The slight downgrade along the river allowed the caboose to coast slowly a long way, which gave the engine plenty of time to pull ahead, clear the switch, and drop off the brakeman to re-direct the caboose to the rear of the train.  I presume this was done whether the outbound train was headed south to Farmington via Aztec or east to Alamosa via Chama.

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

p.s.  Tom's immediately preceding photo in the set shows the locomotive that rather dreary day was K-37 #494:

Photo copyright © 1960, 2010 by Thomas Gildersleeve - All Rights Reserved.

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



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/2022 12:22PM by Russo Loco.