Re: Smokebox repairs

I was on the 492 August 6, 1963 when it hit the rock. I had been called for that run as head brakeman, and was actually supposed to be riding in the doghouse on top of the tank watching the train behind us. I got tired of choking on the smoke, and got down in the cab to fire for a while and give Fireman Richard Thate (pronounced "Totty") a little break. We were going around a left hand curve. I couldnt see ahead from the deck, Richard was riding the seat watching the track like he was supposed to, but it was one of his first trips and he didn't know the road too well yet. Engineer Virgil Hedrick was running. All of a sudden Richard started jumping up and down and hollering "WHOA, WHOA, YOU BIG SONOFABITCH, WHOA!" Virgil woke up, shut her off, dumped the airbrake valve into the big hole and then horsed her over into back motion, and gave her steam. Then he hauled down on the whistle....He didn't have a clue what we were into. I really didn't either at that point.
But from Richard's actions, we knew it was NOT GOOD!
There were smaller rocks from the slide that came down with the big rock on the tracks which derailed us, and we were nearly stopped when the headlight and top front of the smokebox contacted the rock, so the damage to 492 was actually pretty minimal and limited to the smokebox front, headlight, and a foot or so of the upper part of the smokebox ahead of the stack.
I had just put in a fire, and had pushed the scoop back into the coal pile. The upper coal gates were open so when we started hopping up and down and were finally stopped hard by the big rock, lots of coal came showering forward burying me almost to the knees, and tossing me into the boilerhead with all the hot pipes and oilcans there. Air operated firedoor was closed of course. I got some minor 2nd degree burns on my arms from the hot boilerhead, and was shaken up a little, otherwise OK. Both the other guys were white as sheets. We soon discovered we were not dead yet, and basically OK. There were rocks piled about even with the gangway on the left side of the engine.
About this time the rear end crew (H."Punk" Blackstone and rear Brakeman Al Stevens) came forward, they were also white as sheets, probably figuring they'd find us all dead and mashed under the engine somewhere.......Big pile of kindling wood back about four cars or so from the engine that had been some pipe flatcars and idlers, was all telescoped into a big heap....
We were driven back to Durango from Arboles, having got there on the section mens motorcar. Fireman Thate stayed with 492 to keep her alive until morning.
I was called to fire the wreck train east from Durango the next morning (Engine 487?? I don't remember now). Took coupla days to clear the mess, pull 492 back onto the track,
buldoze the wreckage out of the way, and buiild the tracks out around the big rock. 492 pulled the rest of the train on into Chama. She had a hotbox on the left side of the trailing truck due to a dislodged brass, that we had to dope, but other than that and no headlight, was operable. 492 then later worked east under her own power to the Alamosa shops.
So went my first pay trip east of Durango on the narrow gauge. I'd just been sent over to Dgo from Alamosa when this occurred. They needed another fireman after they started running the second section of Trains 461/462 to Silverton.
Fun times those were, for a 20 year old kid....