Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec - FriendsOfCumbresToltec.org

#489 takes 3 gondolas of ballast out this morning. Slipping the drivers a bit today with the damp track. Skip forward to about 2:00 for actual departure, I thought they were ready to go but they waited a bit.

I wonder why they always push, vs. pull the ballast cars. They do have radios, right? I notice someone is always riding the load in the lead car.

#489 returned light shortly after 12PM Mountain time -- no idea if there was another trip with the gons I wasn't here for a few hours. 489 Hooked up to the passenger cars that have been on the main.

Passenger cars being moved off the main.

The next few videos will document some major switching moves this afternoon -- some nice whistle noise in here too! At one time, one train was about 16 or 17 cars long! I'd have to write a book to describe it all - so sit back and enjoy!

Larry,
As always, thanks so much for capturing this for those of us that were not able to see it live.
John

John Hamman wrote:Larry,
As always, thanks so much for capturing this for those of us that were not able to see it live.
John

You're welcome John, glad I was around today to catch it all.

Thinking that all the excitement was over for the day, there's more!
489 hooked up to 463 in front of the roundhouse, pulled it over to where 484 was in front of engine house. Put 484 where 463 had been, and then 463 into the engine house.

Quite an afternoon of work, but we still have one mystery -- what happened to the gondolas of ballast that 489 took out this morning -- did they come back at some point, or were they left someplace on site where the work is being done?

Also for Pete to answer your question above -- I don't know why the preference is to push rather than pull the gons, but as to the riders in front - that's required, just like you see someone at the back of a train, or locomotive, when backing up in the yard. Yes they do have radios for communication, as well as using the hand signals.

I just spent an enjoyable hour watching all of that. It looked like the 489 pushed the 463 all the way through since I saw steam rising on the other side of the engine house. Also 489 must have gone all the way to the summit since he had spun the engine before heading back.

Sharon Evans wrote:I just spent an enjoyable hour watching all of that. It looked like the 489 pushed the 463 all the way through since I saw steam rising on the other side of the engine house. Also 489 must have gone all the way to the summit since he had spun the engine before heading back.

Glad you enjoyed it Sharon, it was quite the show today.

The engine is probably on the downhill side for safety and it is much easier to dump ballast downhill than up.

Tom C.

Larry Sullivan wrote:Thinking that all the excitement was over for the day, there's more!
Quite an afternoon of work, but we still have one mystery -- what happened to the gondolas of ballast that 489 took out this morning -- did they come back at some point, or were they left someplace on site where the work is being done?

Elsewhere on the web, someone said the railroad was done with the ballast hoppers around Chama and they were moved to Antonito. Just repeating what I've read.

be well,
bob roman