Steam & Excursion > Rio Grande K-28 476 1970s To Silverton Recreation

For 2022's Fall Special on the Durango & Silverton, the railroad put together a small consist with K-28 476 to recreate a 1970's consist with Rio Grande lettering on both the locomotives and coaches. Also featured on the locomotive was a diamond stack. In this video, you will see my footage from the one-day run from Durango to Silverton and back.

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Great video!  Perfect weather, engine working hard with nice exhaust and beautiful whistle.  I thought they had scrapped all of those fake stacks.  I detested them, but the video is good enough that it takes your mind off the subject.
Thanks for sharing it with us.  You did good.

Most enjoyable.

Thanks!!!!

Frisco1522 Wrote:
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> Great video!  Perfect weather, engine working
> hard with nice exhaust and beautiful whistle.  I
> thought they had scrapped all of those fake
> stacks.  I detested them, but the video is good
> enough that it takes your mind off the subject.
> Thanks for sharing it with us.  You did good.

It was a fall photo charter and the theme was Back To The 70's.  They put one of those fake stacks back on, and painted some trim, like the rerailers yellow, etc.
While I am not a fan of the fake stacks, I have to admit the D&S does a nice job with their photo specials.  We did a video on the 2022 Winter Special with 481 which is the last one to burn coal.

SLO did a fine job of framing and capturing the action on this trip.  It surprises me that in one of those early shots there are 3 pine trees growing out of rocks along the ROW between the tracks and the river.  Beautiful railroad for sure!
Greg Scholl

SLORailfanning Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For 2022's Fall Special on the Durango &
> Silverton, the railroad put together a small
> consist with K-28 476 to recreate a 1970's consist
> with Rio Grande lettering on both the locomotives
> and coaches. Also featured on the locomotive was a
> diamond stack. In this video, you will see my
> footage from the one-day run from Durango to
> Silverton and back.

While the diamond stack and the Rio Grande lettering make it appear to be the 1970's, #476's consist is absent a BIG difference: A coal fired engine, which is also missing from #480 in Silverton. While most photographers might overlook the difference, for veterans they will note the absence of the odor of coal smoke. For next year, there will be two less of the Cumbres and Toltec's four K-36s without coal. #489 which burned oil in 2022 and #487 undergoing the conversion this winter. For now, #484 and #488 remain coal burners as does K-27 #463.  #492 has started its rehabilitation to provide the RR with a K-37 engine, but I do not know whether it to will be converted to oil, though I suspect it will.

gregscholl Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
...
> While I am not a fan of the fake stacks, I have to
> admit the D&S does a nice job with their photo
> specials.  We did a video on the 2022 Winter
> Special with 481 which is the last one to burn
> coal.
...
> Greg Scholl

Any word whether #481 will remain a coal burner, or is it too to be converted?

 

You didn't get the screaming cowboy that yayhoo put on instagram I see...

Cumbresfan Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> SLORailfanning Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > For 2022's Fall Special on the Durango &
> > Silverton, the railroad put together a small
> > consist with K-28 476 to recreate a 1970's
> consist
> > with Rio Grande lettering on both the
> locomotives
> > and coaches. Also featured on the locomotive was
> a
> > diamond stack. In this video, you will see my
> > footage from the one-day run from Durango to
> > Silverton and back.
>
> While the diamond stack and the Rio Grande
> lettering make it appear to be the 1970's, #476's
> consist is absent a BIG difference: A coal fired
> engine, which is also missing from #480 in
> Silverton. While most photographers might overlook
> the difference, for veterans they will note the
> absence of the odor of coal smoke. For next year,
> there will be two less of the Cumbres and Toltec's
> four K-36s without coal. #489 which burned oil in
> 2022 and #487 undergoing the conversion this
> winter. For now, #484 and #488 remain coal burners
> as does K-27 #463.  #492 has started its
> rehabilitation to provide the RR with a K-37
> engine, but I do not know whether it to will be
> converted to oil, though I suspect it will.

I hear you on all the differences with the D&S charter, but these are not Rio Grande charters, but D&S fall photo specials, which appeal to regular photographers as well as railfans.
Yes 487 is supposed to be converted to oil over the winter, but I had not heard anything about them starting on 492 yet.  I think they have their hands full trying to get the regular fleet ready for Memorial day opening.  I have ridden the cab of 2 engines on the C&TS, 487, and 489.  Those are the two that will be oil burners.  Nice that we got them before the conversions.  Nothing like the fireman wheeling the scoop of coal into the firebox and the smell of coal smoke.
Greg

"Sports model" indeed!

Thanks for a great video!

Wonderful!! Thanks a lot. Brings back a lot of memories....

Greetings from Switzerland

First rate video !  Thanks for sharing. 

Greg,

 I suppose we will hear quite a bit about C&TSRR engine repairs including the #492 at the next Commission meeting in Antonito on February 25. Notes about engine status presented in the November meeting can be found at the link.

http://train.sbseiber.com/CTM2022Nov12.html



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/06/23 11:27 by Cumbresfan.

Awesome video, can't wait to get there in the Fall 5his year!

Posted from Android

Excellent video thank you for posting. I was on the trip and your video captures how well the trip was run and organized. In the 1970s growing up in Denver I made several pilgrimages to Durango. The K28s with the fake stacks were my first real exposure to steam. So I am a big fan of them. I also rode in coach 327 on the trip. The same coach I rode in with my parents in 1963, my first trip on the line. 476 pulled our train that day. And in 1980, the last year of D&RGW operation, on our honeymoon. I have done several D&S photo specials. They do a great job at a reasonable price. Give them credit, they are a for profit business, but manage to work in quality Railfan action. I do believe the diamond stack on 476 is a replica, not an original. Thanks again for the video, I have poached it and downloaded it.

Randy in PHX

Posted from iPhone



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/23 16:00 by randyr.

476's stack is the original from early 1950's.  It is the same one applied for the movie "Night Passage".  This fake stack has slightly different proportions compared to the other two applied to 478  (in 1956 and 473 (in 1963).  The D&S disposed of the other two.

Thanks Earl for the correction!

Randy in PHX

Posted from iPhone

NIICE..!!

There doesn't seem to be any passengers on this train.  Were all (hundreds?) of them in the photo line?

Hakk