October 6th and 7th found myself, Topaz (the spare parts kitty) and new LSC member Richard “Ski” Kozloski in Chama, New Mexico for some rail-fanning photo ops. Looking around the yard we spotted this hiding behind the engine house.
That’s right it’s 315; Dave Taylor’s baby. Down from the Durango and Silverton for a visit on the C & T. Well Topaz being a bit mischievous dared us to climb aboard and take it for a spin. Recounting my last visit to Chama where in Ben Hancock sold me out for a Klondike bar for climbing on Rotary OM, I declined the suggestion. Topaz upped the ante by double cat daring me…you all know I cannot let something like that pass so it was on after that.
If you cannot read the tape in this picture it says, “Keep out, This means you Boomer”. But I knew it didn’t. The other piece of tape says, “Keep Off, This really does mean you Boomer”. Hahaha, that Dave is such a kidder.
I climbed in and found the keys hidden under the floor mat right where Dave said they would be. With Ski firing, me at the throttle and Topaz cutting loose on the whistle and shouting crazy cat instructions we got 315 up to pressure. I put it in reverse and headed backwards down the track for the West end of town. Some dudes came running out of the engine shop yelling. “Hey what do you think you are doing?”
I yelled back, “We are friends of Dave Taylor. He said it was cool if we went for a test run”.
They waved and headed back inside, “Well if Dave said so it must be okay”.
Topaz the spare parts kitty:
We chugged down past the cattle pen to the turn around loop stopping long enough to set the switches for Roundy Round running and let her rip. I made a few laps then we switched places, Topaz fired, I rang the bell and and shouted crazy instructions and Ski took a turn on the throttle. After a few more laps we changed again. With Topaz at the throttle things got a lot more interesting. 315 became the little engine that shouldn’t. At one point that stupid cat had it going so fast that 315 tilted up on one set of drivers Joey Chitwood style! I finally had to take Stinkerdoo off the throttle when she meowed something about, “wonder how high up in the air we can get this thing.”
No operations were conducted, no freight cars spotted to sidings and no passengers delivered. Just good old roundy round running. With the water level low we headed back to the engine house. Topaz had bent two of the axles on the tender trucks and there was a funny sound coming from the smoke box. We pulled in with 315 quacking, wheezing and bouncing up and down like a Fisher Price pull toy. Great fun, to bad the video didn’t come out but that is what I get for putting Topaz in charge of the camera.
These events may or may not have happened exactly like I told them…but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
