Chama
June 18-22, 2014
Saturday, June 21
Chama, New Mexico
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With no official work to be done this day, I slept in a bit and let the engine hostlers wake me up. I got a cinnamon scone and some coffee from the mall next door to the hotel and sat on the balcony to enjoy the morning. I was REALLY missing my newborn son, Noah. I hadn't been away from his side for this long and it was agonizing. The view, scone, coffee, and coal smoke helped ease my pain a bit. I can't wait until he's older and can come to Chama. |
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View from the balcony at The Hotel |
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Down in the yard, I got some close-up shots of 463 and 488 as they were prepared for a double-header |
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Really hard to determine what decade this is. Could easily be 1920. |
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Night Watchman's Shack, now used by the Friend's |
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Watching you watch me |
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Right after taking this photo, Rich Murray called me laughing.
With work finished: Joe and I teamed up to chase the double-header to Cumbres Pass. This was an unexpected luxury! Since this was a joint effort by two members of the Friend's, I branded this as a Friend's video.
Video of the chase
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Looking down the Chama Valley from the old Highway 17 across from Windy Point |
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Current Highway 17 and Windy Point as seen from the original Highway 17 grade |
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Chama Valley as seen from the original Highway 17 grade |
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Coxo and Chama Valley as seen from the original Highway 17 grade |
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216 arrives at Cumbres |
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Several hours later I got back to Chama and took at look at the new gift shop inside the Depot freight area. This was a brilliant use of an existing structure that had been closed to the public. I also spent some time chatting with Corrine Williams (Passenger Operations) and Evan Martinez. Evan is in his first year as an employee, but his family has worked on this railroad for FOUR GENERATIONS! |
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Some of the "graffiti" on the walls dates back to the 1800's. |
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Looking railroad-east (north) from inside Caboose 0503 |
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This photo was on the cover of the Summer 2014 Dispatch! |
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The temporary cable strung between the Depot and Bathroom building to keep the cameras working while the Depot underwent renovations |
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Later this year, the cable will once again be properly buried in conduit |
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While waiting for the train to arrive, I was intrigued by the intricacies of this typical switch |
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Train 216 Arriving |
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The tail of the Chama Wye was extended several hundred feet to allow the turning of an entire train. Here it is under construction. It's not often that you get to see narrow gauge rails being built in this century! |
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For one of the final times, the road crew switched out the Parlor Cars, Gon, and Concession Car to turn them |
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And, herein lies the problem and need to extend the tail of the Wye. The K36 and 4 cars don't hardly fit |
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There are literally inches to spare and careful coordination is required for this maneuver |
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Chama Local While waiting for John Cole to go to dinner, I walked the yard. Not a bad way to spend an evening. |
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Inside DRGW Reefer #161. It was reconfigured as the Night Watchman's Shanty and now serves the Friend's members as overnight accommodations. |
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Yeti |
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Washing 487 - Frankly, I didn't know they did this. |
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As always, this was a great trip to my adopted second home, but I was happy to get on the road back to the airport in Albuquerque the next morning. I really missed my family and couldn't hardly wait to get home and hold my son.
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