The railroad returned to operation Thursday with coal-fired Rio Grande Mikados after a wildfire closed the popular tourist railroad for six weeks. County officials lowered the fire danger rating, and railroad officials stepped up fire patrols, including the use of helicopters.
In the roundhouse shop, K-37 No. 493, last run in 1968 and long on display in Silverton, is under restoration with plans to debut the engine as an oil burner in 2019. Officials also say they plan to buy two new 85-ton road diesels for use in 2019 and will look at converting one of the railroad’s K-36 Mikados to oil firing for the 2020 season. The sourcing for the new diesels was not clear as it has been since 1969 when the now defunct Montreal Locomotive Works built a narrow gauge diesel has been built for a North American railroad, Alaska’s White Pass & Yukon.
D&S has four diesel switchers and used diesel power on short trips between Rockwood and Cascade during a portion of the fire closure, but determined they are not adequate for long trips, steep grades, and tonnage trains.
D&S last ran a K-37, No. 497, in the 1980s, but traded it to the nearby Cumbres & Toltec Scenic for a smaller K-36. D&S also owns No. 498 but there are no plans for it.
HOW ABOUT, a brand new clean sheet diesel electric locomotive set with all the latest gizmo’s inside, but with a super retro looking carbody and paint scheme like this? A “diesel” does not have to be a box.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=399418
Unfortunately, I think this is an idea that has to be implemented. The Durango & Silverton has had problems for years with restricted running during wildfire conditions, and this would be a good way to make sure that trains can keep operating and the money can keep coming in.
That was in 2011:
http://trn.trains.com/news/news-wire/2011/06/white-pass-yukon-to-sell-three-alcos
The whole WP&Y is now being sold to Carnival Cruise Line:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/white-pass-train-sold-carnival-1.4696188
Oil firing – no problem. Diesels – ain’t gonna ride. )-:
Motive Power & Equipment Solutions in South Carolina built this 3 foot gauge road diesel for the Isle of Man Manx Steam Railway in 2013, but it has been trouble prone since delivery. Brookville Equipment could be another potential vendor.
http://railequipmentsolutions.com/projects/project-550/
Even though I am a rivet counter, overall I am glad that they are working to keep steam running. The diesels hopefully will only be for the worst times of fires, as well as the oil burning locos, and hopefully coal will remain the main fuel. Personally if it has to be a K-36, hopefully it will be 481: 482 is the D&S’s pride and 480 was the flagship before 482, and the K-28s are so historic to the line and common for winter usage or lighter trains.
It seems they are not converting all their locomotives, just a couple that are not now operating to use during times of high fire danger.
On our first visit to the D&S back in 2000, we were taking a tour of the backshop and talking with one of the staffers involved with a steam locomotive restoration. As there were some lineside fires at the time, although nothing the railroad couldn’t handle quickly, I suggested they convert one or possibly two of the locomotives to oil firing. I told him about the then defunct Morris County Central in New Jersey who had converted their steam engines to oil-firing and who got then fueled the engines with waste oil from gas stations and auto repair shops who GAVE them the oil just to get rid of it.
“Convert the engines to oil firing, turn yourself into waste oil recycling center, and you’ll cut the worry of lineside fires during dry spells and you’ll get your fuel for free!” The staffer gave kind of a “Hmm, that’s possible look…”
Now after 18 years in NO WAY am I trying to take credit for this, but I am surprised they didn’t do it sooner.
If the D&S needs some help, they could head over to the Sumpter Valley Railway. Their narrow-gauge Mikado 19 was originally a wood burner before being converted to oil (I believe on the WP&Y but possibly in Portland in 1996). The SV folks could probably give some good tips, and maybe some pratice.
As far as “coal in low risk and oil in high” the SV tends to use a wood-burning Heisler in low risk times and the Mikado for high-risk or high-traffic times. And it is quite capable of pouring on the smoke; just go check out a fall photo charter.
Hasn’t the WP&Y put a few of their diesels up for sale? Why not buy those? I can see them in DRGW colors.
The Mount Washington tried to convert to oil-firing but it was unsuccessful. We now have ugly “square box” diesels on the Cog Railway that destroyed the proud historic nature of the operation. I hope the Durango experiment goes better.
There are numerous reasons, including mitigation of fire risk, to convert from coal to diesel. One of these is that coal appropriate for use in steam locomotives is starting to be hard to come by. A steam locomotive firebox is sized and laid out for a coal with a certain heat rate range, and the locomotive does not do well with coal outside that range. Oil firing, if a multi-burner approach is taken, can better mimic the way coal heats the boiler.
It will make the fireman’s job a lot easier. Swinging that shovel is a lot of work.
On the other hand, there will be no more billowing clouds of coal smoke, and the smell will be different. Part of the attraction of the DRGW remnants, to me, involves some personal history and a trip down memory lane. But of the vast majority who ride these trains, they are tourists and this is not a factor. As for me…I will never go to sea again except as a passenger. And I will never ride a train again except as a passenger…
The above remarks 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.
I’m mainly interested in authenticity in the key sense of the operation of the Durango & Silverton. That being said the railroad needs to look at the writing on the wall and face facts. For the wildfire threat and safety of the citizens of southwestern Colorado it’s a no brained. They’ll suffer if conversions are 100% diesel and not based on weather and fire conditions. In my opinion though if they can find use for another locomotive, such as D&RGW 493, I’m all for it. There is nothing more depressing than machinery sitting and rusting away when it can be put to good use. I’d also on a mechanical level would be interested to see what a new 85-Ton narrow gauge diesel would look like in the 21st Century. I just hope they keep with the traditions of the Rio Grande and keep the coal burners.
They will lose a lot of their charm if they buy dismals to pull their trains. The scenery will keep most of them coming, but at a reduced rate. Oil-firing may disappoint the rivet-counting crowd, but it will be far better than the alternative.
Would it be possible to run coal fired locomotives during less” risk of fire” seasons and diesel or oil-fired at other times?
I don’t know that oil burning will stop wildfires. Even diesels will start fires. A carboned-up diesel started dozens of small fires before it got five miles from the engine house. This happened less than a mile from my house.
I’m pretty sure the oil burner for 3985 came out of the Challenger displayed at North Platte.
Oil firing definitely eliminates the fire danger. True, the rivet counters will be somewhat disappointed but you can still make tons of smoke on oil just by over firing a bit for the photographers. The locomotive will benefit by having a fuel that doesn’t carve up the firebox or flues and the fireman won’t have to go home at the end of his/her shift with a sore, aching back caused by shoveling coal all day. The railroad should check with Doyle McCormack and the 4449 crew. The Daylight uses a burner that was designed by Southern Pacific that seems to do a very good job on oil, thus extending firebox and flue life greatly. I think that when 3985 was converted to oil, Steve Lee and crew copied the burner that was in 844 which was copied from a Southern Pacific design. I may be wrong but I seem to remember having read that somewhere.
There is a very large steam loco that was converted to oil and has been working for many years. This loco has a big brother that is being converted to oil before it goes into service.
I do not see any major reason that prevent the use of oil on a smaller scale…They need to hire a firm with the expertise in oil burners.
My background, I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Mechanical Engineer’s are the ones that design fired and unfired pressure vesicles.