Re: Friends Freight Charter

I was in Chama to ride the photo freight, but got sucked into some business stuff and missed most of it.
They used the 489, which is the only engine that is both lettered Rio Grande and had has proper numbers....the 463 and 497 got the wrong font when they got renumbered after the spring painting. John Coker has volunteered to help get that fixed this winter.
While I didn't see it, the train apparently left Chama with a reefer, about seven stock cars, and the bunk car, gon and caboose for riders. Photographers rode a C&TS bus which motorcaded the train up the hill. The photographers boarded at Cumbres. In my view that is a good way to do it because it provides some good photo ops without having to make runbys on the 4 percent.
At Los Pinos the prior day's passenger had set out five tank cars and a box. The tank cars were added to the train, and the box left behind due to brake problems. So for the balance of the trip the consist was the five tanks, reefer, seven stock cars, bunk car, rider gon, and caboose. Or something close to that. A pretty good looking train. I chased it for a few shots at the Antonito end, where they arrived a bit ahead of schedule, making a bunch of runbys in very nice light at Ferguson's trestle....I only saw the smoke.
On Friday the weather was shirtsleeves and blue sky.
I got to ride from Osier to Cumbres on Saturday. So far as I could tell everyone was having a pretty good time. Saturday afternoon the weather started clouding up and turning cold, but still pretty good.
Other than a few sliding wheels on the stock cars coming down the hill, the trip apparently ran pretty uneventfully.
Steve Fowler was in charge of the trip for the Friends and has the final word, but I would judge it a success. There were about 30 folks on board, and it succeeded in making some money for the Friends.