A short-term lease of the 1911 Baldwin, last used by the Southern Pacific on its isolated narrow gauge line in eastern California until 1960, was hammered out between Inyo County, which owns the locomotive, and the Durango & Silverton. While details of the arrangement including its duration and planned use have not been fully worked out, Randy Babcock of the D&S, who also assisted in restoring No. 18, said in an on-line statement that “its planned usage is on the Cascade Canyon winter trains.
“The primary purpose of No. 18’s time in Durango will be oil fire training for both the D&SNG engine and shop crews in preparation for the 493’s service debut in 2019,” Babcock said.
Former Denver & Rio Grande Western K-37 No. 493 is currently undergoing overhaul and conversion to oil firing in the D&S’s Durango shops. This decision, along with a plan to purchase two new-built diesel locomotives, came about after the disastrous June 1 “416 Fire” 10 miles north of Durango, which burned for two months. The D&S was shut down for more than a month by the fire. A lawsuit filed in Durango contends the railroad’s coal-fired locomotives were responsible for the fire.
No. 18’s visit is the latest in a long list of narrow gauge luminaries to visit the D&S. The other notable steam locomotive has been privately-owned 4-4-0 Eureka, based in Las Vegas.
Well, when you look at it a certain way, SP will have indirectly invaded Grande country afterall, when #18 arrives in Durango town!
W. Cook: Thanks for setting the story straight. I have never stopped learning and always look for ways to increase my knowledge of things. First and foremost, I appreciate constructive criticism. Regretfully, once in awhile some clown will want to jump across the counter and clean my clock. In many cases, it was discovered that Bozo knew less about the subject than I did!
Joseph Toth, INVASION— BLOCKED;
To keep the history straight about the reason for the gage of construction and conversion on the Farmington Branch, it was built SG because the AZ&CO (SP) was attempting to build into Durango area to ship Colorado coal to the Southern Pacific branches in the SE AZ copper zone. The D&RG would control the origin of that traffic if it moved south. When built it was called the Red Apple line, its prime traffic. After oil fields developed around Farmington the D&RG line was needed to ship crude oil to Salt Lake City (via RGS) to be refined. But the AZ&CO again attempted to build a standard gage track north into Farmington and then claim trackage rights to invade the coal fields at Hesperus, and use the D&RG track to take the San Luis Valley traffic to LA and short route that valuable business away from the Salt Lake City route that D&RG used for that traffic.
Therefore, the D&RG converted the entire branch to narrow gauge to prevent the SP or the AT&SF from entering Farmington and claiming access by trackage rights over the D&RG line.
The Rio Grande could have just added a inter rail but that would not prevent the larger lines from intruding into the SW Colorado’s turf of the Rio Grande and tacking the business by shortcutting it to LA.
They pulled spikes on 4 out of 5 ties ahead of time and then just pulled the spikes on the 5th tie and slid the entire rail over on one Labor Day weekend. In both cases, it was a blocking action to prevent intrusion into the D&RG area of service.
Don’t you get sick of the NIMB-Yarders who move in and attempt to change everything just to please them? Like buying a house next to D/FW and complaining that air traffic disturbes their peace of (lack-of-a) mind. In the case of the upper high class rich pinko yuppie invaders in Durango, it’s only a matter of time til they take their case to the SCOTUS, then Good-Bye D&SNG!
Joseph Toth:
Unfortunately there is precedent for what you are suggesting. The following is an entirely fictitious scenario and has no relation to or application to anything in the real world.
Some years ago United Pemmican wanted to build a whale blubber processing plant. The plant was engineered to the highest standards of the state of the art, the design was thoroughly reviewed by government regulators, and was finally given the green light. At the time ground was broken the plant was in the middle of nowhere, miles in every direction from any kind of population. The plant was designed to be safe, clean and efficient, and would serve to mitigate a widely acknowledged pressing need for processed whale blubber.
During the period of construction, which took fifteen years or so, a town grew up near the plant. When came time to start the plant the townspeople objected to having an operating whale blubber processing plant in their midst..after all, its whales didn’t you know, gotta think of all the whales now.
The plant was there before the NIMBYs came. There was litigation and the NIMBYs won. The plant never operated. It was later sold to the Government of the State of Inebriation for one groat, and United Pemmican took the loss.
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Go find your own damn lawyer.
Several observations from this article and the comments:
I believe the D&SNG source of coal is similar to the Cumbres & Toltec, the same mines that supplied the D&RG railroad. Preserving these railroads have kept the small mines open according to workers at the C&TS. Therefore supplying coal is not an issue.
The ease of oil supply is not the real issue with converting UP 4014 to an oil burner.
On a recent Rocky Mountain Railroad Club tour of the Cheyenne shop Ed Dickens said it would be oil fired. There were no questions asked as most there remembered the first Rocky trip with 3985. When UP 3985 was restored it was with the original coal firebox. Almost every run by going up Sherman Hill started a fire along the right-of-way. The same thing had happened in Utah on an earlier excursion and the local news covered how prisoners from the nearby prison were used to fight the fire. The next year 3985 was burning oil. They use diesel fuel as it is cheaper to use than bunker oil when logistics are included.
Why did Sherman Hill burn in the 1980’s when coal had been used for so long before? The land around Sherman Hill is covered with at least 2 inches of coal cinder. I put forth that those coal cinders burned off the brush before it caused a fire problem.
I contend that this is the same issue in Colorado not only around steam railroads but in general too much fuel has been allowed to accumulate. The DR&G did not use the spark arresters that the D&SNG uses now. It is obvious when looking at photos from the 50’s and 60’s, the trees and brush have grown substantially since then. This is not global warming but fire suppression and there is nothing natural about the high density of growth seen now. While riding their trains it is clear that D&SNG has been thinning their right of way and building fire lines.
The area the 416 fire started raises some issues because of where it started and that officials say the cause is undetermined. The population around Durango has exploded with most people not dependent on tourism for an income and some want to see the train shutdown.
Lastly, I have been in the cab of an oil fired locomotive in Argentina were the fireman had trouble keeping the fire from going out. So maintaining the fire may not be as simple as it seems. (The locomotive was a built by Baldwin for use on the Patagonia line)
Jeffery: Opps, my mistake. Sorry! I’m Re-Tired. I was tired yesterday and am tired again today. Brain is rusty just like the rails on Tennessee Pass!
There is an art to hand firing a steam locomotive and not getting hot spots, areas insufficiently heated, a (carbon) bone buildup in the firebox, etc., not to mention regulating the water supply to keep the boiler water level between the lines on the sight glass. To quote a Chief Engineer I once knew (he was talking about a marine steam plant but the same thing applies to a locomotive) “The two worst disasters in a steam plant are high water and low water.”. So the fireman on one of these things actually has quite a lot to do. Changing to oil will simplify his job somewhat.
Aside from the issues with cinders and whatnot starting fires or allegedly starting fires, getting the proper grade of coal for these locomotives is becoming increasingly difficult. You can’t just stuff any kind of coal into the firebox and expect good results. It has to have the right heat rate (locomotives are designed to burn a specific type of coal), and the coal has to be the right size – too small and it burns too quickly. Too big and it does not burn quickly enough. Steaming coal (for locomotives) is not commonly made any more.
D&S may be doing this partially to offset or forestall litigation concerning steam locomotive operation – I cannot comment as I have no direct knowledge of what is going on. But there are other factors driving this conversion.
This is in many ways a sad day…I have slung my share of coal into a firebox, it is excruciating hard work and a kid’s game, but I can say I once did it…but as Mister Keay comments, “Better to have an operating oil fired steam locomotive than a cold coal fired one.”.
Long Live 473 (and 493, for that matter).
The above comments are general in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Go find your own damn lawyer.
NIMBYs? Naw. Business owners in Durango lost money because of the fire and are looking for someone else to pay the bills. They probably don’t even want to go to trial with the suit – just get a settlement from the railroad.
Converting the locomotives to oil burning eliminates the possibility of starting fires and the expense of the fire crew following every train. Oil burning also eliminates the time and effort required to clean the ashpan and dispose of cinders. Fuel oil is readily available which is not necessarily the case for locomotive coal. The job of fueling and firing the engine is also much easier.
UP has chosen to convert 4014 to oil firing. I think other big steam locomotives will be converted to oil as a means of simplifying the logistics of steam operations. A tank truck of oil and a hose is readily available compared to moving a gondola of coal and arranging for a crane to load it into the tender.
Better to have an operating oil fired steam locomotive than a cold coal fired one.
As sad as it may seem, Durango and vicinity is becoming the home for a vocal group of opponents to historic railroad operations. They’ve transitioned from NIMBYs to NOPEs — Not On Planet Earth.
Joseph Toth – I think actually the RG took over the SP, though it kept the SP name.
INVASION!
Looks like Southern Pacific has finally made it to Colorado afterall and this doesn’t count the late 20th century takeover of the D&RGW by SP either. When the Grande was concerned that the Santa Fe or Espee might be considering infringing on their territory they constructed a line between Durango, Colo. and Farmington, N.M. which was built to standard gauge standards. After the ememy had retreated the line was converted to three feet. It should be noted that little remains of the line to Farmington today as if no railroad had ever served the town at all. Much of what little remains today is located on private property.
What’s more, ironically, unless it has been eliminated, the New Mexico tourist guide I requested several years ago not only included the C&TS, but wait, it even promoted the D&SNG as a LOCAL attraction as well!
Item: The 1955 Hollywood western “Run for Cover” which starred James Cagney (as well as Ernist Borgnine and Denver Pyle), include scenes that were shot on a train, filmed on the Grande’s Farmington line!
Diesels can carbon up, spark, and have caused forest fires. I would imagine that oil fired steam engines could do the same thing. While they may lessen the chances of wildfires, they don’t eliminate it.
Carson and Colorado Railway is based in Independence, CA, not Laws. Laws is the Laws Railroad Museum near Bishop. C&C Railway is based at the Eastern CA Museum in Independence, about 50 minutes south of Laws on Highway 395. SP donated #18 to the city of Independence in 1955, and the Laws station site to the city of Bishop and Inyo County in 1960. #18 is owned by C&C Railway.