Day: February 26, 2012
This is a very enjoyable video that shows the narrow gauge Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad being cleared of snow in early May of 1997 by a steam powered rotary plow. The C&TS RR runs the 64 miles of track between Chama, New Mexico, and Antonito, Colorado. This is a section of what was once Denver & Rio Grand trackage that ran from Alamosa,CO, to Durango, CO, and was abandoned in 1968.
The viewer is given a very informative tour of the features and the controls of the rotary at the beginning of the video.
Even though it is early May, there is still 4 to 6 feet of snow over the track near the summit of Cumbres Pass, which is at 10,015 feet in elevation.
The scenery is great and the camera work is very good, capturing the snow plow from all angles. There are good, tight shots of the rotary in action and also some nice vista shots.
This is a good video and is worth the price.
| Title | Rocky Mountain Snow Plow |
| Producer | Greg Scholl |
| Format | full screen |
| Playing Time | 1 hr 30 min |
| Purchased From | http://www.trainvideodepot.com |
| Date Purchased | 01/04/12 |
| Price Paid | $27.95 |
My job with TRW Automotive Commercial Steering Systems in Lafayette involves being the technical liaison between several TRW manufacturing locations and over 200 different component suppliers. While most of these suppliers are in the Midwest region of the United States, occasionally I get to travel outside the states to foreign locations. In the last days of January 2012, this Gringo headed south to our manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico facility to work on a new product launch.
Please understand that on trips like this, the most important thing is not railfanning. However, if you drop enough hints and ask around, occasionally you’ll get treated to at least a small glimpse of railroading in such faraway places. In preparing for this trip, I did a fair amount of research on the internet, including the popular and most helpful MEXLIST yahoo group. After a couple hours of browsing, I had enough information on the local area to be able to know about a great railfan spot close to where I stayed – and that place was the main train station in Queretaro.
CN 301 on the Wainwright Sub, derails on the Fabyan Bridge over the Battle River near Wainwright, Alberta, Canada, January 2012. Photos submitted by Andrew Futrell.
by Ricky Bivins, Chapter President
Well hello again fellow Chapter Members. As the last meeting drew to a close January 23rd, a lot of points concerning our Chapter had been made. Better than half of the thirteen members present were at one point or another, involved it what turned out to be a very constructive discussion. I am very aware that several members were not so entertained. Others said the meeting was positive. One member said it was long overdue. It is not easy to please everyone on every aspect of being a “club” of any type. We have a singular interest, as Bob Moffet pointed out when he said, “I like trains”.
Near the end of the meeting, Chuck Hinrichs made a very good point, one that I vividly recall having been made several years ago when a discussion ensued over lengthy business portions of our meeting night. Chuck said to the effect “…then let the Officers meet before the meeting to decide issues…that’s what we elect them to do”.
The Officers will meet on February 23rd at my house at 7:00PM! The results of the meeting and decisions made there in will be presented to the members present on the 27th and if a vote is needed so it will be done. All members are invited to attend this first pre-meeting meeting. CSX may provide some entertainment just across Railroad Street and I do have some trains running on my Lionel Layout in the upstairs bay.
I asked for a volunteer to take charge of programs and coordinate trips, events etc. and to bring new event ideas to the members for consideration. No one was willing to do so! After the business portion of the meeting was over I ask 7 members at random it they had read the newsletter. I was disappointed but not surprised to learn only two had done so….one of the members asked that had not is an officer!!!
Ricky Bivins, Chapter President, smiles proudly in front of his O gauge layout in Morton’s Gap, KY. Ricky built his new house with the layout in mind for the 2nd floor area. Making the house location doubly nice for Ricky and failfan friends, is the fact it is located about 100 feet from CSX’s Henderson Sub main, near the cut-off switch. We will hear more about Ricky’s layout as it progresses.