Re: Railfan identification . . .

Scott Lothes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We've nearly finished processing John's negatives
> at the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, and
> they include more than 2,000 views from his trips
> to the narrow gauge. This one carries call number
> Gruber-07-39-094.  John had been there at least
> four other times in the 1960s prior to the Trains
> assignment, and I suspect a few of the regular
> posters here appear in some of his photographs!
> It might be fun to figure that out.


Hello, Scott -

By sheer coincidence, both John West and I were in Chama on August 28-29, 1967 (though we didn't know each other then, and didn't actually meet for another thirty years or more), so it's possible that one or the other of us appears in a few of John Gruber's photos.  It is highly probable that Mr. Gruber appears in a few of mine — this might be him at the right, about to take a photo of #498 about to take on a bit more fuel from the Red Devil loader:


I vaguely remember a shot in the Trains article that was taken from one of the engines as it worked west through the curves between Big Horn and Sublette, but I don't remember if it was taken from the helper or the road engine.  If the latter, then Mr. Gruber is in the cab of #493 here, along with the D&RGW brass in the yellow hardhat:


For my mostly moldy-oldie shots of the August 28, 1967 train both earlier and later in the day – La Jara to Lobato Trestle – see [ngdiscussion.net].

Did Mr. Gruber bring his family along on that trip?  If so, then he and his son are at the far right of this shot taken in Chama the following morning:


. . . and near the center in this one:


Later that morning we must have been within ten or twelve feet of one another, as his shot of the engine whistling for the crossing at Coxo is nearly identical to this one of mine:


— except that he was using a camera with a MUCH sharper lens.

- Russ Sperry

p.s.  I was driving a green Triumph TR-4 at the time, so if any of John Gruber's photos show a foamer wearing a ten-gallon Hoot Gibson cowboy hat driving a sports car into Big Horn or Osier, that was me!



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 03/01/2023 12:23PM by Russo Loco.