Is the OY at Cumbres still in operation? If not will it be returned to operation?

-Eric

The OY is not in operation at the present time. If you want further info about it the following boards are good places to ask questions about the equipment at Chama.


http://www.goatbbs.com/cgi-bin/bbs50/we ... i/noframes

http://www.ngdiscussion.net/cgi-bin/NGDFcook.pl/

It's serviceable, it just hasn't been needed since 1997.

OY got quite a bit of work in 1995-1996, after one of the gear shafts broke during plowing in 1995: repairs to the gear train, body work, etc.

It was used to open the line in 1997, but in subsequent years more modern equipment could be used to open the line, saving money. (OY is a very expensive tool.)

Since it is not a locomotive and considered a piece of MOW equipment, it is not covered by Part 230, and its boiler inspection is done by the State (CO).

JAC

From what I have read, OY is not servicable, but just need some relatively minor work to get back in operation, such as flue work. As cash-strapped as the C&TS has been, there has been no funds for a non-critical unit like OY nor is there likely to be in the near future.

IIRC, OM has a sheared-off drive shaft. Still fixable, but not as easily.

Again, this is just what I've read on the afore mentioned discussion forums.

You've sort of got it backwards.

OM's flues were removed many years ago in anticipation of returning it to service for its 100th anniversary. That didn't happen, and now OM is a candidate for a full body restoration but not operation.

OY had the broken shaft (see my other post) - that was fixed in 1996, and OY was operated in 1997. To get it ready for service would take little more than lube, installing the water glasses, loading coal and water, and lighting a fire.

But it's a very expensive and tiring way of opening the line - rotaries are intended to be a fast way to open a blocked line. A rotary outfit requires about 20 employees on the train (including track workers), working extremely long hours. The snow has frozen and thawed many times during the winter, making OY more of a Sno-Cone grater than a snow blower in places. Water and coal are usually problems (Cresco tank doesn't fill fast enough to keep locos and rotary replenished).

On a tourist line that can rely on the sun and a few bulldozers instead, calling out OY just isn't cost-effective.

JAC