Steam & Excursion > D&SNG stops ops due to fire danger (updated - trains are running)

The Durango & Silverton temporarily suspended operations Sunday due to the high fire danger.  Details are in today's Durango Herald and Trains magazine newswire.

JOB - Omaha

Operations which were suspended Sunday have resumed today according to updated news reports.  Reports say the fire level threat has dec.lined.  An extra train also was added today to accommodate demand.

JB - Omaha



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/22 14:55 by Copy19.

Some fellow near Durango hit a rock with his lawnmower and the resulting spark started a 500 acre fire. It's now contained.
Another bad fire near Pagosa Springs (near US160) was 1,500 acres last night and growing rapidly.
SW Colorado is the driest it's been since about 1895.

Copy19 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The Durango & Silverton temporarily suspended
> operations Sunday due to the high fire danger.
>  Details are in today's Durango
> Herald and Trains magazine newswire.
>
> JB - Omaha

Surprised they didn't run the regular trains with diesel power.

Even with everything burning oil now?

The problem is two-fold - drought and high winds.  The slightest spark will set things off, and with the winds it gets up and out of control before you know what happened.  Given what they just paid out for the 416 fire and how little it takes to ignite the brush right now, it doesn't surprise me at all that they're being extra cautious.

Put it this way - until a brief thunderstorm today, I haven't seen measurable precipitation at my house (southeast Colorado Springs) since January, but I've seen multiple days of 60+ mph winds, with some gusts over 100.  For the year to date, I'm sitting at about 0.6" of water.  Dry doesn't even start to cover it, and much of the state is in similar or worse conditions.  If the rains don't start, the whole state is going to be on fire in a month or two as snowpack disappears and temperatures rise.  It's not going to be a good summer.

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/18/22 19:49 by NDHolmes.

Even something like cast iron brake shoes will cause a fire. It's that dry, just like what we have in Southern California.

The issue is beyond the risk of starting a fire, it includes the risk of having the train caught in a fire started by others.

Speaking of cast iron brake shoes, I recall coming down the 17 mile grade on the B&O in 1977 with the 17 car long Chessie Steam Special train pulled by ex.-Rdg.2101. I looked back on one of the endless curves and every wheel of every car wa a circle of fire from the constant 10 lb. brake application needed to keep us down to the 35 mph needed on the many curves. 

   When we got to the bottom at Cumberland looking back on the train from the head end you couldn't see past the 1st. car as the whole train was in a thick smoke bank caused by the cast iron shoes. No diesel = no dynamics + cast iron shoes + long steep downgrade= much smoke !!!

   Great memories.  Ross Rowland 

Thought they bought all the diesels so they could keep running?