Pit Crew for the Chama Choo-Choo. Day after day, from late May through early October, members of the Chama Shop Crew perform their afternoon ritual of inspecting their locomotives and preparing them for departure the following day. Unless something breaks, the routine rarely changes. The train arrives from Antonito and drops its passengers. The locomotive crew then spends an hour or more switching cars and turning the equipment. Then, the shop crew takes the engine and begins the maintenance routine. First, the sand dome is filled. The locomotive is then run to the switch at the north end of the yard and switched onto the shop track. It is then backed through the shop and stopped on the south side, where you see it here. The gentleman on the left is in the process of pressure washing the engine and has nearly completed the left side. As he prepares to move to the other side, the fellow with the white beard has brought out a large, air-driven grease gun and has hooked it up to the locomotive's air brake resevoir. He is currently in the process of packing heavy grease into each of the rod bearings. After the locomotive is washed, greased and oiled, it will be run to the north side of the shop building, where the fire will be maintained by a night hostler. At dawn the next day, the boiler pressure will be brought back up, the fire will be cleaned, and the locomotive will be watered and coaled. At 10AM, she'll leave for Antonito and at 4PM another locomotive will arrive in Chama....and the process will be repeated. The days of the D&RGW may be long-gone, but for the hard-working K-36s and the latest generation of men who maintain them, the daily grind goes on.
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.
