DRGW ballast

The 1937 profiles I have show significant segments of the Alamosa to Durango line ballasted with "gravel", however the DRGW defined gravel. The longest almost continuous segment of this gravel ballast was from near Navajo to Allison.

"Gravel" probably included river run rock, which is poor ballast because it lacks the sharp edges of crushed rock which allow the ballas to "lock".

I believe a lot of the "cinders" used on the ng. (and also on the std. gauge) came from the CF&I steel mill at Pueblo. The cinders were great because they were sharp and could lock, but they were soft and would quickly wear down into sand. My guess is the locomotive cinders were used primarily for spot repairs.

JBW