44 years ago this week I arrived in Durango by bus, having been sent over from Alamosa to work at Durango, as they were just putting the second Silverton train on the schedule, and needed another fireman for the freight runs to Chama and Farmington. August 6th was just a few days away, unbeknownst to us that would be working Extra 492 East when we hit the big rock that had tumbled down on the tracks west of Dulce. It was my first pay trip out of Durango....kind of an ominous event, but the rest of my time over there was without much incident, and I enjoyed every minute of working there. I had only one day off (Labor day)the whole time, and was called to fire either one of the freight runs east, Silverton, Farmington,, or switch engine every other day I was there. I was laid off in early October and never went back.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/02/2007 05:10PM by Etrump.