41 looks super, but have a thing for 340

On our Colorado trip back in 1963, the narrow gauge out of Alamosa, Chama, and Durango was a fantastic eye opener for a young 9-year-old kid. The outside frame Mikados were ugly and brutish however (cue the outrage!) and quite frankly, I found 315 on display in Durango to be much more to my liking.

We continued west to Knott's Berry farm and there was number 340. Even as a kid, I disliked the fake diamond stack and the terrible paint job, but she was my first live C-19 - I must have watched her go around that loop a dozen times. [ngdiscussion.net]

Jackson Thode later sent me a print of the photo he took of her sitting outside the Gunnison Roundhouse. I think everyone took that photo. And that shot on the Ouray turntable by John Maxwell, in Beebe/Clegg's Narrow Gauge in the Rockies sure was captivating.

So all in all, if 340 ever makes the trip to Durango, I hope I hear about test runs in time to make a flying trip to see her.

Cheers,
Ralph

“My heart is warm with the friends I make, And better friends I’ll not be knowing;
Yet there isn’t a train I wouldn’t take, No matter where it’s going.”
- - - - - - - “Travel”, by Edna St. Vincent Millay



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/11/2023 04:22PM by tgbcvr.