Preceding week 9/21/1970 to 9/27/1970 posted here 6th September, 2001.
Monday September 28, 1970;
Using #483 we switched out the Sunday’s train that arrived 9:00pm. I then walked the yard and too an entire yard inventory of every car number and ownership. We then switched out two box and two gondolas that looked good enough for the planned Governor’s train. Then we put the engine on the service track and cleaned and worked the fire and did a full service. I then joined some who cleaned out the sand cleaning house and the tower bin and made that entire system workable with the compressed air from the locomotive. At this time in the evening, the engineer Sid took the track (pop) car and disappeared up the line in search for a deer, as he was out of food in his camper. I have not idea of his success but he did not take of my offer of food money.
Tuesday, September 29, 1970:
We moved the #483 near the 4 cars that were switched out for the Governor’s train and attached a long air hose to the pilot and proceeded to air clean the gons making a big cloud of (radioactive? dust). The joke was they might have been used to carry yellow cake on the RGS to Durango. We then worked on the sand tower again and oiled all over the locomotive 483 again.
I then received orders to ready the train to run to Cumbres for a test ride so the Engineer Sid McKinley could get some more air experience coming back down the 4% grade.
C-NMRRA Extra #483 East departed 5:05pm and arrived at Cumbres 6:45 pm with 0 loads and 9 empties. The Cresco water tank stop was passed with regret but a stop was soon made, account low steam, when the coal was falling out the fire door and it was not correctly distributed across the entire grates. Sid dropped a lot of the burning coal in the ash pan and spread out the rest and pressure returned. Since much burning coal was now up under the grates, I feared another burning grate problem that occurred September 20, 1970. So I hung on one arm out the fireman side door with long poker pushing the fire down to the bottom of the ash pan exposing the bottom of the grates to cooler air. Sid would not stop to fix the ash pan but it all worked out okay. We arrived at Cumbres, took water, turned the engine on the wye and serviced the engine, and brake checked every car for application and release. Extra 483 West left Cumbres at 7:45 PM and arrived Chama at 9:00 PM and the headlight only did a sweeping pass over one deer. The motorcar was fired up a few minutes later and I learned to “know nothing”. I was the stranger from back east.
Wednesday, September 30, 1970:
We fired up #483 and began switching the yard at 10:05 AM and then serviced the engine on the ash pit. We left as Work Extra #483 East and West at 1:40 PM for the narrow below Labato and dumped cinders out of the ash gondola. We returned train to Chama at 4:30 PM and made a trip to Pagosa Spring for the only available doctor. On return I explored the area around MP 340, drove over to Dulce and drove down the RG&SW for a ways to see what the grades looked like. Then I reviewed the contractor’s progress on tearing up the line west of Chama. The track was torn up from point A to end of CNMRRA west of Chama. All the rails were ripped loose from point A to Willow Creek and dozed with a truck road to a mile west of Willow Creek. Another unit had the track ripped up from Monero east a ways and it was dozed for the truck and rails loose for two miles east of Monero. The rails had not been touched through Monero Canyon and we walked through (w to e) the entire canyon past Table Rock, which was the only place of particular interest for photographs.
Thursday, October 01, 1970;
Arranged a business meeting with contractor Cole while the engine was being serviced and a work train was assembled with 4 cars. Unrecorded departure time and stopped at Labato and left drop-bottom gondola and a stock car for display, and continued up to Cresco. We worked by jacking and surfing some poor track at Cresco and just west of it, and arrived back in Chama at 4:00 PM. The #483 was put where it was coaled up with a tractor backhoe by privately purchased coal, out of our own pockets.
Friday, October 02, 1970:
The press train was all ready to go, and brake tests made on all cars. Special #483 East departed at 10:30 AM with 0-10 cars and made a successful return to Chama at 6:05 PM. I did not record the train time at Cumbres. I turned over Acting Superintendent job back to the crews from Denver and everywhere else.
Saturday, October 03, 1970:
The governor did not show but the train had a successful run. I had departed for trip back to Maybrook, NY and my Assistant Train Master job at the west terminal of the former NYNH&H RR. On December 1, 1970, I was promoted to full Trainmaster over 40 miles of the Maybrook Line and entire 125 miles Harlem Line. Someone said I was the youngest Trainmaster on the PC at the time. Don’t know if that was correct.
Above are personal notes Copyright protected under the new law, good till 76 years after death of author. Information is not restricted, only the order and layout of this offer of data.
