Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec - FriendsOfCumbresToltec.org

Are there any plans to restore any of the 490s to service? While its nice to have the small engines running, an in-service 490 would be a useful addition to the daily operations ofthe railroad.

A K-37 only gets one more car up the hill. As they all need major work, i doubt any will be put in service soon. Maybe if a big donner came in and said i have the money and for 49x only.

Tom C.

One could only hope.

Doug

It's not on the C&TS but K-37 491 is operational at the CRRM. I have a strong feeling that in the coming years (sooner than we think) we'll see K-37's on both the C&TS and D&SNG. Just a hunch--one that I really hope pans out!


William
aka drgwk37

I noticed a link on one of William's other posts to a video titled, "Chama Steam one- The lost Video entire video" that shows an aw some display of the 497 in action on the C & T after the D & SNG traded it. If you like K37s this old video I think is a must see. If my memory serves me correctly, and that is a big if, I seem to recall the D & SNG traded it because the 497 was too tough on track at the Silverton end of their line. In the old days, the D & RGW did not even run the K36s up that way. I am a fan of the K37 too, but I do not think we will see them over on the D & SNG again. My hope is for the C & T. some day. Just my two cents.

John

The K37's, with their rigid frames, also beat up the track a lot more than the K36's do. We could see the one at the CSRM come down to operate on special occasions.

John

The 497 was rough on the track on the D&SNG and the C&TS because of issues with the pony truck and drivers, an issue that went back to D&RGW days. The curves on the Silverton branch were not any tighter than the mainline between Alamosa and Durango. Actually the tightest curve on the NG was in Monero canyon. When the 497 finally had it's issues fixed in Chama it ran fine. The fact that there were unknown issues with the 497 it created a negative stigma for that class of locomotive, had the 493 or 498 been restored before the 497 I'm very confident a K-37 or two would still be in operation on the D&SNG. In the years after the 497 left the D&SNG has learned the K-36's are creating the same issues with the track that they thought the 497 was creating on it's own. Those are things that they deal with even today. I really feel strongly that in the coming years we'll see multiple K-37's come back to life, think about it when the operational K-36's go down with major issues there will be a need to utilize a K-37 to fill the void. It's not an if but when type scenario--case in point look at the 491 running around the very small loop on the CRRM. Running just fine and not creating any major track damage, which they were worried about based on the stigma created by the 497's history. I'll remain optimistic and I suppose time will tell, but I'm an obvious K-37 fan. ;o)


William
aka drgwk37

Sharon Evans wrote:The K37's, with their rigid frames, also beat up the track a lot more than the K36's do. We could see the one at the CSRM come down to operate on special occasions.

Sharon,

See my post and response to John. The K-37's ran successfully from 1928 to 1968 without destroying the tracks on the D&RGW. At the end of operations there were actually more K-37's stored serviceable than K-36's.

William
aka drgwk37

William,
I was just going by what I had read and it was not very specific.
As you say, they certainly are well represented in the historical photographs of the D&RGW.
Thanks for the clarification.
John

Sharon Evans wrote:The K37's, with their rigid frames, also beat up the track a lot more than the K36's do. We could see the one at the CSRM come down to operate on special occasions.

Yep, I would like to see the 491 given a chance to stretch its legs on the run from Chama to Antonito, but I think it would be quite a chore to truck it down there.
John

William, could you post the link to the video again? Can't seem to find it.
Thanks!

Mark here is the video referenced, not one of mine but an excellent watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jupAxoh ... X&index=36



William
aka drgwk37