On Memorial Day the Cumbres and Toltec sent out a double header with 463 and 488 to get the daily train over the pass. It was a nice and chilly day so the engines really put on a good show.
Desde Chile, un abrazo. Soy fanático de los trenes y sobretodo las locomotoras a vapor. Espero ir un día a Estados Unidos y hacer esos fabulosos viajes. Saludos.
Thank you for this wonderful trip through the mountains--miss them so much! Excellent filming--put me right on that train....one of the best I've ever seen.
I rode this train a couple months ago and it was absolutely fantastic. One of the few things I have paid for in my entire lifetime and felt I got my money's worth and more. I heard there was going to be a lunch....I figured a bottle of water, Apple, and a cold ham sandwich. WRONG. Were served a great hot meal that would have been a bargain at $25. If I ever get back out there, I will ride it again. Scenery was beautiful and the train crew were gracious.
I could tell you about steam in Middletown. My grandfather went from locomotive to stationary as the first, 1st class stationary engineer in Ohio. He built a plant for Sorg Paper. It provided heat and electricity to downtown Middletown. It still provided heat to South Main until the paper mill burnt last year. I would like to know if somehow tne power plant survived the fire.
Fantastic video. Thank you. I'll be riding in a chartered caboose on September 19! I can't wait. I haven't ridden the C&TS since 1979. I'm really looking forward to it.
Absolutely great photography. I like what they have done with the cars. I'm glad the K-27 is running but the K-36 is so photogenic.....my 2nd favorite NG steamer.
+jayfmiller Thanks. 488 for some reason had a very high pitched dynamo last season when compared to the other engines. Towards the end of the season is was hard to listen to that engine on the coaling tower web cams because of the high pitch. It's not as high pitched in person though. Either that or I just got used to it over time.
+Austin Goodwin in 2008 I was fortunate to do a cab ride on steam locomotive #735 on the mainline trip in Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan. The dynamo on that was also high pitched.
They don't really need it any more now that the bridge has been repaired after the fire. Before, however, it was found during reconstruction that the bridge piers had been undercut by the river, so I guess it was fortunate they continued the old D&RG regulation. :-)
Great footage. You are getting close ups that are most impressive! Thanks so much.Was this all taken by just a single person? It would seem that one can't get fast enough from some of the locations to the next? What kind of camera equipment did you use?
At 51:11 it almost sounds like 463 is saying goodbye to 488. Such emotion from steam engines which is why they will always be my favorite type of engine.
Good! First half switch-yard, second half in mountains. Looks cold in mountains with patches of snow. Thanks for sharing. If Memorial Day week, why do the leaves on first half show color like fall?
I'm a train enthusiast and I was wondering, what is the reason for the double-header? I've seen a video where one of those engines was hauling the same 7 passenger cars without any issues. Was this just for aesthetics?
The reason is because the 463 is a much smaller engine than the standard K-36 and has less horsepower. With 463 being the road engine for the day a helper was needed to lift the train up the pass. 463 can handle at the most 6 cars up the 4.5% grade on a good day and the day this was filmed, rain and snow was a definite threat up on the line making conditions less than ideal for traction. The day before the daily train had issues climbing the hill due to wet rails and arrived 30 minutes late to Osier.
We rode it on opening day of 2016 (you can see me and my grandson on the tourist car in one of the clips taken that day) and had two of the larger engines as far as Cumbres. I was told that on opening day, and again near July 4, the practice is to keep selling seats until an hour or so before train time or until they run out of equipment at Chama. One of the larger "K" class I was told could handle 7 cars but if more than that was required it would double head to Cumbres. Quite a sight and we will be back on May 31 this year with our grand-daughter - she graduates HS in Wylie, TX on 5/27, opening day this year. One of my older friends at church and I are looking at opening day 2018.
What you're referring to is known as the doghouse and it's where the brakeman would sit due to limited space in the locomotive's cab. The doghouse was fitted to the K-28, K-36, and K-37 classes of locomotives on the narrow gauge with only one K-27 (453) being equipped with one. They also were steam heated for winter use.
Shelter for brakeman that gave him protection form elements while actively watching train and responding from forward positions and often many mid train helpers.
The bridge was built so long ago it wasn't designed to support the weight of two bigger K class locomotives so one has to be cut off and sent ahead of the train
The original bridge was very severely damaged in a fire in 2010. The original bridge was made of wrought iron. The main beams were replaced at that time (2012). Wrought iron is no longer available for this purpose. They did not replace the bents (hold up the bridge) as they were not damaged. Cost of course is always an issue and historic accuracy. Long story short - It was rebuilt to roughly the original specs (modern standards applied). This is a very interesting article that helps understand what happened. www.apti.org/clientuploads/publications/2014/Rutz%20article%20for%20web.pdf
