New Page 1

Click On Any Photo To See Large Version Use Your Back Button To Return
	Here is a Beautiful Shot of a Model 463, it is owned by Paul MacFarland... ain't that just a Beautiful Thing... My Buddy Dean Lowe sent me this Picture and I have a few more to show you.. Thanks Dean. You know Dean, there is still a few Piece's of Coal in 463's Tender in the Shop... thats the coal that was in her on her last run from Chama with me at the Throttle... You could crush a few piece's to put in that Model 463.......
	Ex-D&RGW Locomotives Fresh from Rebuilds burn up the Rails North of Pueblo, it does the Heart Good to see the Rio Grande Emblem still Riding the Rails.. Check back here for the Shop Log Updates... Monday 22nd, 2004: Antonito Shop.. We have another Car in the shop this morning and we began work on it.. I also went over to Chama this Morning and attempted to bring Diesel 19 back to Antonito, I didn't make it.. I had a bit more snow than I expected and made it about 1/2 a Mile past Cresco Water Tank before I stopped and returned to Chama.. I had a Electrical Fault and Decided to not Risk damaging The Diesel 19 and Drifted Back into Chama. Monday 22nd, 2004: Chama Shop Update: I did get into the Chama Shop today and took some Picture's.. The 488 is still undergoing rebuild... all the Rods are off the Locomotive and the Crew has had to Take the Number 2 & Number 3 Driver Wheels and Crown Brass Boxes out of 488 for some Adjustments.. Not sure of the Cause.. But only the Number 1 & Number 4 Driver Wheels are in the 488.. all the Rods are off. I did take Picture's today, Monday 22nd of the Chama Shop and 488 and those will be on the website next Update.. The Cab Plumbing is in Place as is the Injectors and Plumbing and Inspirators.. Tuesday 23rd, 2004: Antonito Shop Update. We have Car 504 in for Repairs, we did some work to the Roof and checked all the seats and Wood Trim, we also jacked up the B-side of the Car and Checked the Truck... we Finished that today and proceeded to lift the A-Side of the Car. We did some minor repairs to the Brake Pipe as it was rubbing on the wheels on Curve's................ Tuesday 23rd, 2004: Chama Shop, No Update. Wednesday 24th, 2004: Antonito Shop Update: Car 504 still in for repairs, we dropped the Centerplate and replaced the Old Rivets with new Bolts.. that tightened up the Centerplate.. we also went thru the A-side truck and made new Pins for the Brake Rigging Hangers and also rebuilt some wear on the Hangers supports. We also began preparations for 484's Fire up this next week, 484 has all her parts in order and all hoses have been re-connected,, we will add a Steam Line to the Mechanical Lubricator for the Cold Weather as this was not installed in Chama, but will be needed for the Cold Santa Claus Train. We will continue Preparations when we go back Tuesday, after the Holiday. We will bring Car 504 back into the Shop at a later date for new Wheels, today we rolled 504 out and rolled the "Quinlan Parlor Car" into the Shop. Wednesday 24th, 2004: Chama Shop Update, no update.
	Now they have New Numbers 1901 and 1900 and a little yellow Paint and a UP Logo on the Nose, but the Rio Grande still shines thru.
	They were doing about 50 MPH, not very Loud and hardly any Smoke.. they were in Great Shape.. and it took me a while to catch them, they got the Green and they Burned the Rails up coming out of pueblo...
	There was one Unique car at the rear with Giant blocks of stone in it..
	I could have chased them farther, but I had to head Home... I would love to see these Locomotives again someday..
	You are looking at the Left side of 484, We Pulled the Covers to check for Something.
	Here is the 484 Engineer side Piston Valve's.. you can see the Steam Ports in the Cylinder.
	Now here is the Cover of 484's Left side Piston, follow the "Red Arrow" and you can see a few marks... the Nut from the Piston rod was hitting the Cover here a little while it was loose.
	Now follow the "Light Blue Arrow" and that nut is what holds the Piston on the the Piston Rod.. it had come loose and we had to tighten it and make a adjustment to keep it from coming loose again..
	Initially I had brought the 484 back to Antonito and had noticed a Massive Knocking on the Left Side while the Locomotive was Drifting or Rolling without power.. we started from the Beginning and checked everything.. we assumed we had Bushing damage on the Crosshead, so we removed all that and checked, no Problems.. so we came to the Conclusion that the Piston was loose and in fact it was. Look at the "Red Arrow" we actually removed the nut and dropped the Main Rod From the Wrist Pin to check the Bushings.
	Now the "Light Blue Arrow" points to the Draft Gear.. The Yolk of the Coupler sits in this box of sorts.. when in Position the coupler connects to the Draft Gear by a pin, the Pin slides upward following the Path of the Green Line.. then a Bolt follows the Purple line and keeps the pin up in position. The "Red Arrows" point to the Holes that the Coupler Pin sits in while in Position.
	Now here is a lowered Draft Gear, when in place the Draft Gear sits higher up and the "Green Stars" will Actually sit side by side.. the "Red X's" are the Bolts that hold the Draft Gear up and Starting from the "Blue X" the interior of the Draft Gear Consist of A Heavy Metal Plate then a Spring, then another Plate, the Middle section of the Draft Gear, then another Heavy Metal Plate, then a Spring and another Heavy Plate and eventually the Coupler itself. This is Probably one of the Hardest Repairs to make on a Passenger Car, we have to do this standing up and over our Shoulders... this will make your Shoulders hurt by the time your done, it is Heavy and Unstable Work..
	Now the Draft Gear is in Place, If you look at where the "Blue Arrows" are pointing to you can see the Springs that absorb the impact from Coupling. The "Red X's" are Pointing to Bolts that are holding plates in place that are in turn holding up Thick Metal Plates that are on Both sides of the 2 Springs that sit inside the Draft Gear.. This Combination holds that Draft Gear up and in Place. If you look closely, you can see a strap or saddle that sits under the Draft Gear, that provides extra support although it is supposed to never come into contact with draft gear... if the Draft Gear is in fact riding on this Saddle it is High Time to work on and rebuild the Draft Gear.
	You are looking at the Completed and Rebuilt Draft Gear.. The "Blue Arrows" are pointing to the Gang-way or the Walkway on which the Passengers walk. The "Green Star" is where the Coupler actually rides up against when the slack is taken in.. The "Red X's" are bolt holes that hold a Angle Iron to provide support for the Yolk of the Coupler.
	Here is a Photo From Train Docent Bob Hey, this is Chama at twilight.. aren't those Street Lights Pretty..
	Now here we are taking apart a truckset, the Chain "Light Blue" arrow is holding up the Bolster "Red X's". We have lowered the Bolster on the Left side to remove the Side Frame "Green X" from the wheels, then we will do the same on the Right side.
	Okay here the Side Frame "Green X's" has been removed from the Bolster "red X's" We will do work on the Side Frame and repair wear where the "red Arrow" points to on the Strike Plates. The Area where the "Blue X's" are is the place where the Bottom Channel sits and supports or is the Bottom where the Spring Rests.
	Again, you are looking at a Compressed Spring just removed from a Truckset. the Square Item marked with "Light Blue X's" is the compression tool that help us to do our Job.. with the Jack "Green X" we can compress the Spring.. to counter the uneven surface of the Spring we use 2 L-Shaped Plates marked with "Purple Arrows" to make a level surface for the jack to sit on and the "Red Arrow" points to a plate we put in the back of the assembly to prevent the jack from slipping out and FLYING across the Shop.
	Here is another look at a compressed Spring, We have a Metal Box to keep them Compressed but this Spring was a little wider than our Box, so we had to use a Chain to keep this Spring Compressed.
	Now in this Picture we have removed the Side Frame marked with "Red X's" and have exposed the Journals marked with "Blue X's".
	Let tell you a a little more about what makes a Truckset.. The Bolster has a Cavity or indention. "Red X's" and this is where the Centerplate of the Car Rides.. the Pin in the Middle helps hold everything in place. Follow the "Green Arrow" and you will see the Brake Head where the Brake Shoe sits and the Brake Hangers which hold up the Brake Rigging. The "Blue X's" are part of the Brake rigging and are what pushes the Brake shoes against the Wheels with the main Power coming from the Brake Rods.
	This is a Completed Truckset, all that we need to do now is install the Springs in the Area marked by the 2 "Green X's". Then we will be able to remove the Chain and Pulley holding up the Bolster "Green Arrow".
	Well its almost Thanksgiving and I would like to say how Thankful I am to all of you for helping to make this Web-site such a Success... this is your Web-Site, it belongs to all of you and I am just the Lucky Guy who gets to take a Majority of the Picture's... without each one of you, there would no Web-Site and no Railroad.. Best Wishes to all and to all A Very Happy Thanksgiving.. if any of you have any Leftover Turkey feel free to ship it to me...Carlos And on another Note.. Thanks to all of you, My Family, My Friends, My Co-Workers... and Thanks to my Sweety Erika, she has Brought a Whole new Joy into my Life.. Love ya Sweety... I love this Picture, this is Erika just Playing in the Sand making Castle's... Hair Blowing in the Wind, Beautiful Huh...
	Here we are in Taos, New Mexico... its the 22nd Annual Taos Mountain Balloon Rally...
	This is the Second morning, We took off Early ahead of the other Balloons doing what is called Dawn Patrol.. it was great for me.. We landed, put away the Balloon and I was able to get these Beautiful Shots...
	Beautiful Blue Skies and Balloons..
	Another Balloon lands..
	How about a Triple Decker...
	How about having a Balloon land in your Front Yard..
	That's a Cool Balloon, I like those Colors.
	The Skies over Taos are full of Color.
	Thats another Beauty of a Balloon.
	Hey theres my fellow Crew Members finishing up the packing away of the Balloon.
	I love the Sky and how is changes..
	Ain't that a sight to see.
	This was a Beautiful Rally..
	The Balloons look Great against the Mountains.
	Man, I love the color of the Sky. Thank Goodness for Polarizing Filters.
	I am in Taos, where's Jeff Stebbins... I was expecting him to come and see me..
	I thought these Balloons look Great against the Fall Colors of the Trees.
	I love the Colors and different Patterns...
	Here is some of the Crew tailgating, the Red Arrow Points to my Sweety Erika, next to her Is a Young Lady who is working on Becoming a Balloon Pilot and she works at Uncle Cliff's Amusement park in Alburquerque.. Ain't that Cool..Thats Got to be a Great Job... Next to her is Janet and Ailene who is the Wife of the Pilot of the Balloon and the Driver of the Chase Truck..
	Here again are some more Picture's from that awesome Collection owned by Jim & Carol Raffa, How about 489's Original Number Plate and marker lights.
	How about the Builder Plates for Rio Grande Southern 22 & 25.
	Here is the Original Builders Plate for Locomotive 484..
	And the Original Plate for 486. Thanks to Jim & Carol...
	Here are some Picture's from a Friend of Mine Named Gary Aubin, The Locomotive 1800 in the picture was Built in 1950 by Gary's Uncle Paul Aubin. These Locomotives are not built to any Specific Scale and are Powered by small gas Motors, but you will agree with me they are Beautiful..
	This Is Locomotive 1801 and it was built in the mid 1950's by Gary's Brother Ron Aubin.
	I love that Caboose, its a Beauty.
	Aren't those Locomotives Amazing, I love them.. look in the Background you can see elevated tracks going into the sheds.
	You can see a B-unit in the Train in this Picture and it was made just a few years ago by Gary's Nephew C.J. Aubin..
	Here are 1800 and 1801... Thanks to Gary for these Picture's, they are planning a Major Expansion and maybe Gary.. "Hint, Hint" will send us some more Photo's. Thank you... Gary also sent me some Picture's from the Mt Washington Cog Railway and those will be in a future Update.
	And a Quick Note, I always hoped this web-page could be used for research also.. So I will be offering the Entire Locomotive 487 Rebuild Project on Photo Cd. The Project will be split into sections as I finish them, nothing Fancy.. Just picture's on a CD. And I will make you a deal, Lets Trade... For a few Blank CD-R Disc's or "whatever else" to help the Web-site and Shipping, I'll send you the First Photo Cd by Mail.. The First Photo Cd is Ready..it is the Nov 6th to End of Dec 2003 Picture's taken of 487's rebuild, it has exactly 125 Picture's on the Disc.. Just e-mail me and I will get the First Cd in the Mail to you... Thanks, Carlos" And now the Second PhotoCd is Ready, it is Jan 6th 2004 to Feb 18th2004 and has 153 Pictures.. And again those are My Parents Pete & Consuelo Llamas and My Sweety Erika Penninger and me... and this is my Parents Backyard in Antonito about 40 yards from the Old Rio Grande Main Line still in Use today..