Steam & Excursion > Durango & Silverton rail bus

I thought that the "rail bus" that the railroad is running south from Silverton to Elk Park in lieu of the steam run was just the Animas Rail Bus which I haven\'t seen for several years now. It is (was?) a real monster mechanically, spending most of its time in the shop. Anyway, wrong again...the "rail bus" in fact is the Casey Jones, a very small (3 or 4 seats) Model T type contraption which used to be run on the Silverton & Northern between Silverton and Eureka, and all for $20. Its sort of a badly shrunken Galloping Goose, and has spent most of the last 50 or so years sitting outside of the San Juan Courthouse. In short, a genuine artifact, and one that I hope to get up to ride before it is retired for the more modern (?) steam engines.
Sorry to report that the forecast for rain for Durango looks grim, at least through early next week so I am skeptical that the steam engines will be running back to Silverton for the 4th. For good news, the Valley Fire to the west is contained and being mopped up, and at long last the Missionary Ridge fire is loosing its fury. Of course, the underlying explosively dry conditions continue. So, pray for rain, but let me ride the Casey Jones first (just kidding guys....my garden needs a good watering RIGHT now).

Hank, I recognize your plight, and sure wish we could export some of our rain today in Oregon to you folks who really need it. Would have put the fire out by itself.

Sorry Husker, but Casey Jones is just sitting while Rail Bus 1 is hauling 1 or 2 open air cars to Elk Park.

KK

When I lived in Farmington I went to Durago three times to ride the railbus. I rode it only once. One of those times was my son\'s sixth birthday. I told him that one of his presents would be a ride. When we went through Durango I saw it sitting by the roundhouse. Not good. My son was a asleep so we kept going. Something must be running out of Rockwood. There was! It was the 476 with two cars. My son didn\'t get to ride the railbus but he didn\'t seem to mind.
One other time the backup train was the 478 and two cars. On that trip I met enginemen Paul Connor and Shawn Curtis, whose grandfather Steve Connor was an oldtime D@RGW hoghead. This turned into a full page story about the Connor family and the railroad in the Farmington Daily Times. (August 1988).
BTW Steve Connor ran one of the trains for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He also had a scene in the movie, which had to be shot several times. Robert Redford and a toy gun was\'t convincing enough to him.