Personal Projects, Photography, and Pointless Pontifications
D&RGW 315 and RGS 5 on July 4, 2008
DRGW 315 is an 1895 Baldwin 2-8-0, built originally for the Florence
& Cripple Creek as their “Elkton”, otherwise known as #3. The
engine – along with her four sisters – went to the Rio Grande in 1917
after the F&CC folded, and eventually 315 wound up as the Durango
yard switcher during the twilight of the narrow gauge. As the engine
came due for major work, it was sidelined and placed on display in a
city park in 1950. Eventually it passed to the Durango Chamber of
Commerce, and then to the City of Durango itself.
In 2000, the Durango Railroad Historical Society was founded with the
idea of restoring 315. At Railfest 2007, that dream became reality,
when 315 moved under her own power for the first time since being idled
in 1950. Last year, while 315 made a number of runs, it stayed on the
home rails of the Durango and Silverton.
When six 315 photo charters over the Cumbres & Toltec were
announced earlier this spring in conjunction with RGS Galloping Goose 5,
I immediately jumped on a July 4 ticket. The trip was billed as a
“stock extra”, with 315 pulling livestock cars and RGS 5 accompanying.
The total of six revenue runs would mark the first time the engine had
seen the rails at the eastern San Juan Extension in at least 58 years.
History in the making, truly, and not something I was going to miss.
I wound up riding on both 4-Jul-2008 and 7-Jul-2008, as well as chasing the first revenue run on 16-Jun-2008. The photos that follow were taken on the July 4th run. The photographic results of the other two trips will hopefully be posted soon in another pair of trip reports.
RGS Goose 5 will serve as transportation today, eliminating any need for unsightly passenger cars in the freight train. Here’s the Goose sitting at Antonito a bit before 0730h, waiting on the day’s passengers.
Meanwhile, D&RGW 315 and the six stock car train (in order, D&RGW stock cars 5691, 5549, 5600, 5841, 5633, and 5706, along with caboose 0579) sit on the other side of the Antonito balloon loop. They’ll follow us out about five minutes behind.
The Goose makes its run-by after dropping us all off. It’s running with brand new chains on the drive wheels, purchased from a John Deere dealer in Alamosa the previous afternoon and replacing the ones that had been installed during the original restoration. The dealer was apparently a Goose 5 fan, and gave the GGHS a substantial discount.
The first run-by of the day is the classic morning shot at Ferguson’s (Hangman’s) Trestle. The trestle is, of course, not original, but rather a rebuilt job after the original was accidentally burned down in a 1988 movie filming.
All loaded up and ready to go at Hangman’s.
No, I didn’t set my models out in the desert. Make no mistake, the scenery outside Alamosa is big and wide open, whereas these trains are tiny – as seen somewhere between Hangman’s and Lava.
Shortly afterwards, 315 and the stock extra head up the grade. Fortunately, being that we were upwind on a warm day, there is no actual livestock – or livestock remnants – in the cars.
The Goose heads up the side of the mesa towards Lava at milepost 289
315 and stock extra rounding the big fill under the loop at Lava, NM.
And then 315 passes by the Lava water tank (no longer functional).
The next run-by was at Big Horn, near where the west leg of the wye rejoins the main. Here’s the Goose coming off the straightaway
And 315 at Big Horn
RGS 5 enters a big cut east of Sublette a few miles
Soon, D&RGW 315 and the stock extra show up as well
I just thought I’d include this overall shot of the photo line to show you where we are
Sitting on the rim of the canyon at milepost 304, two miles east of Sublette.
Pausing for water briefly at Sublette – we’re running a bit short on time, as we need to get in the clear at Toltec shortly for the regular westbound train
There’s time for one more run-by, though, on the curves about halfway between Sublette and Toltec. This is one of the few opportunities of the day to get the Goose and Extra 315 West in the same shot.
315 comes through the curves at approximately milepost ~309.
A slightly wider shot of the previous spot – as usual, I couldn’t decide between them.
Sitting just around the corner from the big cut, waiting for all of us to get back on the Goose
Safely in the hole at Toltec, awaiting the arrival of the regular westbound train
There’s the regular train, with 487 on the point. It’s amazing how much larger a K-36 is as opposed to the small C-18 class next to it.
Just a weird artsy shot that I rather liked.
RGS 5 at Phantom Curve with the famous hoodoo in the background
315 and train from nearly the same spot
What C&TS photo special would be complete without the Rock Tunnel shot? Here’s RGS 5…
And the stock extra… Just think, some 118 years earlier, William Henry Jackson was standing just about where I am (though a bit higher up) taking one of his famous photographs. After this run-by, it’s time to go eat at Osier.
Here we are at Osier – it’s time for lunch! As several of us on the trip remarked, Stephen Flowers and his Osier Kitchen staff have done amazing things with the food up here. I look forward to it nearly as much as I look forward to the train these days.
Here’s 487 and the westbound train, just getting ready to depart. The flags are a nice touch – it is Independence Day, after all.
With lunch over, Alan and the crew work to get us underway again. We’re already behind, so the crew is working to get both the Goose and the stock train turned around in the Osier loop as fast as possible so that we can head back to Antonito.
Yours truly posing on the Goose at Osier. Really, I’m having a blast, but my lower back is killing me from an injury a week earlier, so I may not be making the most photogenic face.
All turned around and ready to depart Osier, we get a chance to shoot RGS 5 and D&RGW 315 side-by-side.
With more time spent eating and turning the trains than expected, run-bys on the way back were a bit limited. The first one was just west of Sublette about a mile.
The only run-by I’ve ever done at the Whiplash Curves, and the crews timed it beautifully so that RGS 5 would be coming around the lower curve as RGS 315 came across the upper level. Nice work to Alan for setting it up and the crews for executing it!
D&RGW 315 and train round the lower Whiplash Curve.
They made us walk all the way back to Colorado after the run-by…
The final run-by of the day, back at Hangman’s Trestle outside Antonito.
And here’s 315 and the stock train on the trestle, with San Antonio Mountain in the background, as well as some thunderstorms that have built to the southeast.
Okay, load ’em up, time to go home. The crew’s getting short on hours.
Hands down, the view from the caboose is the best way to experience a narrow gauge freight. After some delay on account of trouble with 315 after the run-by, we finally arrive back in Antonito.
Coming around the south side of the balloon track and preparing to put the stock cars away in the siding to the Car Repair Facility.
Once 315 was done putting the train away, 484 spots the regular tourist train at the station for the next day’s run.
While not related to this trip, I wanted to post a photo of one of the more interesting recent developments sitting in the yard. Here’s Rio Grande pile driver OB – freshly restored by the Friends of the C&TS – sits at the Antonito Car Repair Facility.
With the day’s work done, both 484 and 315 sit side-by-side at the Antonito shops.
One last look at 315 after a great day out on the line. Thanks to the Galloping Goose Historical Society for RGS 5, to the Durango Railroad Historical Society for not only bringing 315 back to life but also hauling it to Chama for us, and to the Cumbres & Toltec for giving us somewhere to run these trips.
All photographs in this trip report were taken with a Canon EOS 40D using either a Canon 24-105mm F4 L IS/USM, Sigma 18-50mm, Canon 28-300 F3.5-5.6 L IS/USM or a Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS/USM.
This work is copyright 2022 by Nathan D. Holmes, but all text and images are licensed and reusable under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license. Basically you’re welcome to use any of this as long as it’s not for commercial purposes, you credit me as the source, and you share any derivative works under the same license. I’d encourage others to consider similar licenses for their works.
