Bedtime for 486. The late summer sun is only about 30 minutes from the horizon and the shadows are long in the Durango Yard. The regular train crews are off the clock and headed home as the evening hostlers set about their tasks of preparing the engines for tomorrow's trains and then bedding them down for the night. Out behind the roundhouse, we find K-36 Locomotive #486. She's just finished coaling and watering, and right now, her crew is executing a couple of long, loud blow-downs to clear the firebox mudring area of any sediment. Shortly, she'll back to the sand tower and fill her domes....running outta sand tomorrow would be bad form. Then, she'll back to the ash pit and get her fire cleaned before getting a turntable ride and finally heading into the house for the night.
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are all that remains of the legendary Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge system. Here you'll find some of my favorites from these two beautiful railways.
