San Luis & Rio Grande Steam

1st part of our video from the San Luis Valley of Colorado where the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad is running their steam engine on weekends.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• SP1744
• Steam
• SLRG
• Rio
• Grande
• Scenic

[vutEwa]

WAY COOL! Can someone buy tickets to ride this train?

[sjpones3]

awesome

[mikey2trucker]

A Mogul; its nice to see some of the "smaller" stuff up and running, love that whistle!! I like 'em all; would love to see a Frisco 4500 4-8-4 rompin' down the iron!!

[slvufo]

Nice video and thank you for sharing. Colorado's loneliest railroad used to run through nearby Mesita (now called a ghost railroad).

[PowerPawsNW]

Nice sequences! The 1744 is a sweet locomotive. I rode her back in the 1980s on the Wasatch Mountain Railway out of Heber City, UT. We worked her on a special winter-time photo freight, and I spent a few hours relettering her (before we left town) as "Southern Pacific" per her 1950s appearances. Rode her cab as we came up out of the lake basin and she was working like a Trojan up that steep grade, at a walk, stalled then started up again. Sounded like a Howitzer cannon!

[PowerPawsNW]

@atsf7809 The biggest obstacles for "light" steam like the 1744 from running on any US main line are: they all have friction bearings on driving and other axles; their power-to-weight ratio is poor compared to larger engines such as the 4-8-4s and 2-8-4s which tend to dominate the current scene; and insurance is extremely high, regardless of other facts. Too, US main line railroads are not very keen to run steam that would tie up already busy lines. More freights run now than ever before.

[abushmetal]

@atsf7809 actually that is the main line, its just the main line to Antonito, the other portion of the main line runs to Walsenberg and then interchanges with UP

[whisperingdeath308]

 Was that a train robber or hobo on foot.

[Paraffinmeister]

@atsf7809 Likely because they aren't powerful enough to haul loads heavy enough to make them viable to certify for mainline operation.

[atsf7809]

is there anything smaller than a 4-6-2 pacific running on an amtrak right of way or any major railroad. no. 1744 is clearly capable of speeds over 55 so why can't she run out on a main line. one of the reasons is she is not certified. but why can't smaller engines run out on the mainline these days

[traindude70]

They Took 1744 out of service because when she was originally restored by the FWW RR she did not really get a very good restoration so they are going to do a overhaul to make her a better running engine.

[trainmaster844]

She needs a major rebuild and will assist #18 once she's finished... then they'll move on to LS&I #20 (The other 2-8-0).