C&TS Evolution

A few days ago, on a rainy spring afternoon, I was passing time looking through some of the few railroad books I have, most covering the D&RGW narrow gage operations, when I came across a photograph that stunned me. It is Plate 79 on page 95 of The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad...The Historic Preservation Study, Copyright 1980 by Spencer Wilson and Vernon J. Glover. The quality of the black and white photo is not too good, and my scanning equipment isn't much either, so I couldn't post it here.
A testimonial to the audacity and exuberance of youth, it is an interior shot of the workshop in the roundhouse at Chama, c.a. 1976. The caption under the photo says, oddly, "This Engine House Was Never Designed for Tourists". Tourists? Hell, the engine house was never designed for outshopping K36's either. The photo looks east and shows the two large 9 over 9 windows, which, along with the wall, were removed a couple years later and became the entryway into the new enginehouse. In the foreground, the dirt floor is evident, as is the newer wood plank floor. To the left, along the drab brick wall is the 1901 Lodge & Shipley 16" lathe. Along the same wall is a plank shelf, sagging under the weight of old K1 triple valves, worn out ("emergency use only") brake shoes, and miscellaneous steel scrap. In the center is the work bench, made from superheater flues and 1/4" steel plate. Mounted on it is the 4" Wilton vise, the front jaw of which Bernie Watts and I broke off attempting to press a recalcitrant bushing into a side rod. For some reason, we had forsaken the main press--a 12 lb. hammer and oak blocks. Also mounted on the bench is the Delta 1/2 horsepower, 1/2" bench-mount drill press, and directly above it on the white support beam, the Pepsi Cola electric clock by which we were able to determine if our 12 hours of fun for the day was over yet. Back by the windows is a pedestal grinder with a wire wheel that would rip your face off if you got too close. To the right is our "new" machine, the 24" Bullard vertical turret lathe. In the late fall of 1975, after the locomotives were laid up for the winter, Bernie and I made a trip over to the Durango roundhouse where we watched the shop forman, Bill Griffin, making some side rod bushings on his 36" Bullard. On returning from Durango, I said "I can do that!" So that winter, Bernie, John Oldberg, Gary Gettman, Rich Braden, and other regulars went over to "Fort Knox" in Antonito, where all the rejects and detritus from the Alamosa roundhouse ended up and schlepped that 24" Bullard over to Chama and set it up where you see it in the picture, so that when I returned from my real job in the early spring, I was able to start cranking out new side rod bushings. The spring of 1976 was the first year since the end of the D&RGW operation that any running gear on the locomotives began to get overhauled. Needless to say, it was long overdue.
That shop in the photo was pretty much the whole enchilada for maintaining three locomotives, six trains per week, plus a fleet of six International Harvester buses that had to slug it out over Cumbres and La Manga passes three times a day, 6 days a week. I hired on as machinist in 1975. I think my pay was $2.00/hour, but I didn't care--I was doing something I really enjoyed.
The railroad has evolved through several eras, more or less demarcated by the various management companies. As described by Jack in a post a couple days ago, the C&TS shop really came alive during the Kyle era, with the commissioning of a working drop pit, additional machinery, and new and ambitious personnel. The evolution continues today, as evidenced in Carlos' weekly shop udate photos. The horizontal boring mill and quartering jig are great improvements which, no doubt, have led to even better running locomotives. Let's hope the evolution continues on into the future.