Thanks John. Thats pretty much what I thought.
I just always wondered if there was not some way through, which we never tried until the RR was history in 71. I think it was pretty clear that one could go east from Gato a ways, and west from Dulce a ways(Navajo), but you could not get through easily as you say. Knowing this I can sleep better knowing my dad did all he could as we left Gato. For some reason I don't remember if we waited for it to leave Gato or not as it headed for Chama. I figure it was likely getting late so we headed out of there and we needed some place to tie-down the camper that night. I remember we had a similar chase in 1966 as we chased 484 from Dgo to Gato with 2 water cars and a caboose. I think we headed home after Gato, as nothing else was running at the time. Fun to remember the old days when all we have now is entertainment trains for tourists or pay to play specials!
Greg