Steam & Excursion > Christmas in Colorado - Durango & Silverton Part 1

This year I spent the week between Christmas and New Years with family in New Mexico. As luck would have it, we got a big a snowstorm on the 28th and I couldn't resist driving up to Durango for a little chase. K-36 2-8-2 #481 was the power on the Cascade Canyon train and I shot video as far as the old highway crossing by Shalona Lake. The video below has 3 clips of #481 on the 2.5% grade from Hermosa to Rockwood. I have a second video that I'm still putting together from the 29th and 30th. I'll post it here as soon as it's ready.

-James
http://www.steamtrainvideos.com

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Hey, 3 great scenes - The snowfall sure adds another dimension - That train is long, I am surprised it is not doubleheaded, especially with snow on the rails. === === = === JLH

slip sliding away

Thanks for sharing the video ...

Nicely done, and capturing the mood ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

Vivid testimony to a good job done by the hogger ( catching the slips very quickly) and the fireman for keeping her hot on this demanding constant upgrade.

   Great video, thanks for sharing. Happy New Year, Ross Rowland

Excellent video. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

that was an outstanding video.  thanks for posting........

66

Four stars, James.   Thanks for sharing your work. 

dan Wrote:
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> slip sliding away

What a great video!! Only caught a couple of quick slips after the Hermosa crossing just before the 550 bridge and after the Shalona Lake crossing. Great work by the engineer to keep a twelve car train going uphill under these conditions. What is the maximum grade between Hermosa and Rockwood?

Also, how are the D&S cars heated? Electric with a generator or other means?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/03/19 15:37 by Cumbresfan.

Very nice James (as always). Sorry I missed you out there. Hope you were able to get home in a reasonable fashion.

LJG
 

Cumbresfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> dan Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > slip sliding away
>
> What a great video!! Only caught a couple of quick
> slips after the Hermosa crossing just before the
> 550 bridge and after the Shalona Lake crossing.
> Great work by the engineer to keep a twelve car
> train going uphill under these conditions. What is
> the maximum grade between Hermosa and Rockwood?
>
> Also, how are the D&S cars heated? Electric with a
> generator or other means?

If I recall, each car has a self-contained propane fueled forced air furnace, using modified RV-type hardware.  Each car has batteries to power the fans, recharged each night.

Maximum grade between Hermosa and Rockwood is 2.5%.

Your usual fine video, James.  Steam in winter, captured as it should be--thanks!

Well done. Glad there was not a lot of whistling or bell ringing so I could really appreciate the sound of the locomotive  working.

OH MY!!! To use a basketball expression...SLAM DUNK!!!

Brian Black
Castle Rock, CO

LJGross Wrote:
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> Very nice James (as always). Sorry I missed you
> out there. Hope you were able to get home in a
> reasonable fashion.
>
> LJG

We made it home on the 31st with only minimal delay.  I wouldn't have minded staying around a few more days and was kind of hoping the snowstorm would cancel our flight or it would be oversold (every other flight that morning was).  I'm guessing there was considerably more snow after the 2nd storm?

-James
http://www.steamtrainvideos.com

You can clearly see how the rear parlor car does some serious rock and rolling In the going away scene at the end of the video.  I couldn’t tell if that last car was the parlor car Yankee Girl, but know it has the rep of being a rough-rider.  It sure was when my wife and I rode it in 2017.
JB - Omaha

Copy19 Wrote:
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> You can clearly see how the rear parlor car does
> some serious rock and rolling In the going away
> scene at the end of the video.  I couldn’t tell
> if that last car was the parlor car Yankee Girl,
> but know it has the rep of being a rough-rider.
>  It sure was when my wife and I rode it in 2017.
> JB - Omaha

The last car was B2 'Cinco Animas'

Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Did you notice the trucker that just made it under the gates in the beginning of the video? I was surprised to see two open air cars in the train!

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/19 17:22 by wabash2800.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Very nice. Thanks for sharing. Did you notice the
> trucker that just made it under the gates in the
> beginning of the video? I was surprised to see two
> open air cars in the train!
>
> Victor A. Baird
> http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Second open car is the glass topped first class "open air" car, which in this cas has all its windows closed up for winter.  The mid- train gon is for the commoners

Nice. My favorite steaming weather. Wish I was there. I'll be there later this year in any case...

Mike Massee
Tehachapi, CA
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