Water at Matterhorn.Our Engineman stands patiently in the gangway, as his Fireman fills the tender cistern of Rio Grande Southern Mudhen #455 from the standpipe at Matterhorn.
Astute observers will note some interesting artifacts on the 455's tender as they study the iconic "sunrise" log. If you look carefully, you'll see some faded remnants of the Denver & Rio Grande Western logo that once adorned this tender. Look just below the coal boards, and again to the right of the RGS Herald. Folks may wonder if this was just simply a lack of attention to detail when D&RGW 463 was repainted for this 2017 RGS re-creation, or was this intentional. The answer, I'm told, is the latter. Many of the locomotives that operated on the RGS were in fact, hand-me-downs from the parent company, the D&RGW. In fact, some of them were loaners and were never repainted. When doing the research for this charter, the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad determined that when the RGS repainted the 455 (and other engines), it was probably done rather hastily and at a minimum of cost. What you see is probably a good representation of how she looked.
Acting as our RGS Crew this day are Engineman Jeff Stebbins and Fireman Carlos Llamas, both long-time crew members from the Cumbres & Toltec.
