Steam & Excursion > Green Flags

July has been busy on the Durango and Silverton and during mid-week the railroad has often operated a second section of the third departure of the day.  This is a double pleasure because the first, tourist-only section typically is in the hands of 473, the only K28 currently operating and equipped with the sweetest whistle in the valley.

In this first series, 473 brings her train up the valley this morning, flying green flags denoting the second section running a few minutes later.
 

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4) A little further north, 473 hurries across Hermosa Meadows Road.
5, 6) Rounding the "S" curve coming out from beneath the CO 550 overpass

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No sooner has 473's exhaust faded than another chime whistle can be heard down the valley, and in no time at all, K36 480 passes by under a clean stack with another eleven cars bound for Silverton.

Thanks for looking!

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Outstanding!

Great photos!  Glad to see someone still follows tradition.

Yes, VERY ncie photos.  And I agree -- it is very ncie
that someplace people follow old and very good
tradition.  Love the green flags -- and used properly!

Beautiful series of photos!

Tourist railway - or, "just" another revenue passenger train in Colorado?  : )

I don't recall ever seeing green flags on an Amtrak train, business must be
good!

/Mitch

Mgoldman Wrote:
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> Beautiful series of photos!
>
> Tourist railway - or, "just" another revenue
> passenger train in Colorado?  : )
>
> I don't recall ever seeing green flags on an
> Amtrak train, business must be
> good!
>
> /Mitch

Has Amtrak ever run a "second section" of the same train?

Yes.  Back during the 1992 Del Mar season, we ran a 2nd section of 774 L.A. to San Diego.

Margaret_SP_fan Wrote:
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> And I agree -- it is very ncie that someplace people
> follow old and very good tradition.  Love the green
> flags -- and used properly!

Seeing the white flags ("Extra") on 765 is nostalgic. Even though modern train operation does not require flags, they are nice to see. (The green flags could have been a matter of life or death for a train waiting at a siding for a timetable meet - with the flags being the warning that the last segment had not yet passed.)

The South Shore electric trains correctly use white class lights for extra trains. Not needed with modern signalling and operations but a touch of class.

I remember Amtrak operating a second section of the Coast Starlight for a week or two in the peak summer season, maybe 1975 or 76.  This was before Superliners and a big train stretched too far to get onto most platforms and there may have been problems getting steam through that long a consist of old equipment.
This was when the only scheduled trains on the coast were the Amtraks (No 13 and 14 IIRC); all freights were run as extras under timetable and train orders.
We made a point of contacting all the MofW employees to watch for the green lights as they had not had to deal with sections for some time when figuring out lineups.
So yes, it did happen.  Not too much later the world changed: Direct Traffic Control eliminated classified schedules and sections thereof.