Re: Bob Richardson

One of my treats in life was to ride with Bob in his old gut buster to the first C&TS Rotary run in 74. A young museum volunteer went with us and Bob kept the two of us laughing all the way to Chama and back. He told so many tall tales the young guy did not know what to believe, including the Round Hill ice tank story.
When we stopped for lunch at Alamosa, Bob stopped by the local paper to drop off a letter to the editor. Even though he had not lived in Alamosa since 59, he still read the paper and kept up with local politics.
On our way home, we stopped at a small cafe in Salida near the depot. The place looked a bit run down to me, so I was skeptical as we went in. The man behind the counter said "Hello Bob, long time no see!" and they struck up a conversation about the D&RGW and how not many railroaders came into the cafe anymore.
One thing that really surprised me was when OM started its run, someone said to Bob that this must be old hat to him. His reply was that he had never seen a rotary run as you could not follow one in the D&RGW days. He had seen them come in to the yards and Alamosa and Chama, but had not actually seen one throwing snow, so he enjoyed it as much as the rest of us beginners.