Dave,
Terrific photos (as usual). Best of luck in your training.
Thanks again, Dave.
Enjoying this post!
RalphDave Taylor said:
More pics from the morning run bys.
If you look in the far background you can see the rail line just below the ridge line. Where it stops near the cliffs is the E. Portal of Rock Tunnel.
And one of the Ghostly pinnacles, of Phantom Curve.
Then back to Osier for lunch.
No afternoon pics at the run bys, As I was firing 315, The start of my official training for Fireman.
WOW WHAT AN EXPERIENCE!
That evening I set up the second of 2 night shoots at Osier. A lot of people think that the new restaurant at Osier is the station, it not. The actual station is about 100 yards to the West, and quite small.
315 awaits her orders at Osier station.
And another night sky shot at Osier station.
(Nope, there is very little Photoshop work to this image. just a slight color correction for the tungsten bulbs)
A few more to come.
Love those night sky shots. I don’t remember that number of stars when we were there 14 years ago, but then we stayed in town (Durango and Santa Fe) so there would have been more light pollution where we were in the evenings.
deleted double post
Next Morning we Picked up OB, its idler flat, the water tanker, the tool car, and headed back down hill to Antonito CO
At “whiplash” we did a photo run by there are two connected 180 deg switchbacks to climb to the top of the mesa. From the side you can view three tracks all at the same time as they come down the hill.
For this run by, we had to hike from where the train is in the first pic, to the photo line where this was shot. About 1/2 mile cross country and over a barbed wire fence line.
(http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff403/dave2-8-0/315%20Antonito/_MG_2612_zps7ec1d8e1.jpg)
(http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff403/dave2-8-0/315%20Antonito/_MG_2615_zps73c77588.jpg)
Coming on down the second leg.
Around the corner.
And then we had to hike on down to the train to get back on.
No more scheduled run bys, so I caught a ride for a ways in the caboose.
And the view from up top.
And the final official shot of this trip.
The Lava Phone Booth. Once upon a time, there were a number of these along the route, so the train crews could contact “dispatch” with there locations. Used for both notification of problems and for keeping crews honest on the speed up and down the mountain. This one has been restored by the “Friends”
Some more to come…
Dave, thank you for all the great photos! I see pictures that could be used for a Calendar for next year. A way to raise funds for the Rail Road.
Paul
Why does the phone booth look like something else?
Cool photos. Maybe, someday, I will get out there to see it live.
Funny, that night shot at Osier almost looks like a model!
Dave,
There is a nice vid of 315 with a stock extra on Whiplash here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgl62VH4cbE
and 315 with Pile driver, same location here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5tWvKfOgBY
Picked this up off the Narrow Gauge Discussion forum
Bob C.
There is deliberatly no embed.
Watched the vid: Its from the fall (Oct.) excursion.
Here is another Vid from Opening Day, 315 double heading with 463. At the start of the video the fireman hanging out the side of 315 is your’s truly ME.
Opening Day on the C&T RR.
For the opening day run on the C&T D&RGW 315 and her younger sister 463 doubleheader from Antonito CO. to Chama NM.
We fired 315 up the night before,and let her perk overnight, with little or no attention needed. The next morning we had an early engine call, and greased her up, and shook down the fire, in prep of the days run.
Fire up prep found a leaking steam line to the air regulator. 160 lb. of live steam at about 465 deg temp. This is the kind of thing you have to be really careful with. That temp and pressure can do great bodily harm if it broke loose.
Here is a Short video ( sorry I don’t know how to link it directly).
http://s1234.photobucket.com/user/dave2-8-0/media/315%20Antonito/DSCN0279_zpsd5b15c83.mp4.html
Gave it a careful tightening, it has a lead washer in it, and a little tightening goes a long way.
Next up: Check and add oil if necessary to the journal boxes on the tender. For those that have never seen the inside.
At the top is the babbet bearing, it only rides on the top of the axle. The axle itself is lubricated by the “Moppy” thing resting against the bottom of the axle, it to is resting in a pool of journal oil. (the green stuff)
As we had to play by the FRA official rules for run time and hours, the crew was divided up into a morning and afternoon shift. As I was to be the fireman of record for the PM shift, I could only ride along for the trip to Osier.
So I played tourist and 315 information source for the paying customers.
After Lunch at Osier I fulfilled one of my lives bucket list items. I was the official fireman of record for a working steam locomotive. 62 years in the making. My mentor (Dennis D.) was in the cab also, but it was all my responsibility to get her to Chama. I didn’t want to screw it up, and there is a lot to do to fire her, not much free time to set and look about, or take a bunch of pics.
I did get one of the fire. sorry but the contrast between the black back head and the fire was to great for my little pocket camera to handle.
And another very short video, and then my battery died, and the spare was back in the train.
http://s1234.photobucket.com/user/dave2-8-0/media/315%20Antonito/DSCN0289_zpsc2d764a0.mp4.html
When we got to Chama, as fireman I had to also be the one to align all the switches as we turned her and put her away. Sorry way to busy to take photos.
More to come.
Very cool, Dave!
Off to Chama this am, as the hoped for excursion on the C&T didn’t happen, and we will be prepping 315 for her transport back to Durango.
Draining the boiler, tender, and disconnecting the two of them.
Stay tuned for Pictures tomorrow.
After 9pm local and back from the prep work.
315 leads the parade with 463 following:
More to follow tomorrow. Shower and sleep calls.
OK guys, got a few minutes to catch up on whats going on with 315.
With Both engine and tender drained, We separated the tender from the engine. Not difficult to do.
First up we separated the “Safety Links”. These are basically a heavy chain between the two in case a failure of the draw bar.
Those links are about 1 1/8" diameter. And the Pin is about 1 3/4" Held on with a cotter pin.
Next up was the Air Line and the Brake Line. These are simple “Glad Hand” connections.
(http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff403/dave2-8-0/315%20Chama%206-26-14/DSCN0307_zps399e25e1.jpg)
Also disconnected was the Main water line. This is a 3 inch heavy duty flex line with a large coupler that takes a hammer to drive it on and off.
All of this is done on both sides of the engine 2 sets of hoses. Plus on engineers side the electrical for the light on the tender.
And the final connection point. The draw bar pin. Heres looking up at the bottom of the pin at the tender. There is another on the engine. Drive it up from the bottom, and pull it out the top.
And PRESTO, you can pull them apart. The tender.
And the back side of the engine.
A few other things were done. The smoke box was shoveled out ( dirty nasty job ).
And the Grates got cleaned off and inspected in the bottom of the fire box.
And of course we greased her around.
And thats all it takes.
More to follow.
Dave Taylor said:
And thats all it takes.
Just a walk in the park! Lots of work for sure, but I wish I could be there to do some of it. Great pictures as always. Thanks for sharing.
Great pics!
What’s that stuff in the smoke box, that looks like spider webs??
Ray, Those are Radioactive Neutrino traces on the camera sensor, coming off the waste tailings. Scary stuff really.
OTOH I really don’t know… I’ve never seen anything like them with a digital camera shot. I looked at the original file and they are there also. Even outside of the box door, on the side of the frame. Here are the other shots I took when I opened up the door.
This one the auto flash went off, and caught all the soot dust in the air. Like snow flakes w/ flash.
No stringy things, but camera pointed in a different direction.
And another one without the flash.
No stringy things here either.
It certainly can’t be a dirty lens from a pocket camera, working around a coal fired steam loco, pointed into the sun.
I’m sticking to the Neutrino theory. Thats my story and I’m sticking to it.
…grinning…