Re: Solution / Open Gons & Blizzards

Hi, Bryan -
Thanks for re-kindkling some memories!
1) "Personally, if it were possible, I would ride the train all the way from Alamosa to Silverton [and return], outside, standing in the open gon."
Been there, done that. Unfortunately, the last time was on the Alamosa Kiwanis Kolor Karavan in 1966. Brief visits to the head and/or concessions car might have caused me to miss a mile or two total out of the 500 when I wasn't outside. Ditto for 1960, '62 and '64. The camera I had in those days wasn't too great, or I'd share some photos with you.
2) "Even if it was raining. (I might come inside for a while during a blizzard)."
That too. On one of Jim Trowbridge's 1996 specials, it started snowing during the last photo stop, at the trestle east of Los Pinos Tank. By the time the train turned the corner east of Cumbres, it was pretty much a blizzard. The old wooden "coaches" didn't have doors, so a few of us who had brought heavy jackets stood in the doorway in a vain attempt to shield some of the non-radical-foamers from the snow.
Actually, light dry snow is easier to deal with than rain, but this was heavy, wet and sticky ...
- Russo (muy) Loco
Colorado College '63