Could this be the end for the Durango and Silverton

If this goes ahead I hope they have some insurance in place. The government obviously haven’t thought of the cost to the local economy and the effect on tourism but then look who’s running the government

https://durangoherald.com/articles/...InqCpo7wkVT8t_4sxOaJcrA48AJpejvRJ-eJ_ECAgq4Jo

 

A government that tends to praise rather than punish polluters?

But if the charge is correct, then I don’t think the railroad should be exempt.


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Last visited there 20 years ago and locos were fitted with those awful “bear trap” spark arrestors to prevent just such a fire. Wonder what went wrong in this instance.

 

From what I've read, they are converting some of the locos to burn oil.

 

I think this was one of the fires that the Federal Government (i.e. DT) tried to blame on the US Forestry Service for the way they managed the land.

 

I assume the defence will be ‘it wasn’t us mate’

 

Surely the real guilty party are those environmentalists who demand more 'wilding' and less vegetation management
(Have I been watching too many episodes of Law and Order )

 

Yes

 

I visited the D&S earlier this year. Many of the locals expected the train to get the blame for the fire, but few reckoned anything official would happen. I gather they hired a helicopter to accompany numerous services after the fire in an effort to immediately douse any further blazes. If the train goes, so does a significant part of the economy and a major source of jobs in Durango, which quite frankly doesn't have a lot else going for it apart from being a stop on the way to the ski resort at Purgatory in the winter.

 

I've been to the D&S several times over the last 20+ years and seen how important it is to the local economy - currently estimated at $200million p.a. The railway takes fire risk very seriously with spark arrestors (not 'beartraps' BTW) and ashpan water sprays fitted to all locos. At times of high fire risk trains are followed by 'speeders' with fire fighting equipment and, last year, the D&S even hired helicopters to spot any fires so they could be tackled before they really took hold. The USFS has been prevented from dealing with the real problem which is tinder dry dead material in the forest and it was only a matter of time before a discarded cigarette, broken bottle or lightning strike caused a similar fire. There appears to be only circumstantial evidence that the loco actually caused the fire in this instance. IMO the USFS has chosen to sue the railway as it (or it's insurers) have money and will settle out of court. For its part the D&S are converting a long stored K37 (493) to burn oil and have ordered 2 new diesel electrics for use at times of high fire risk. It remains to be seen how successful the diesels are as they are from the same source as the IMR's "Cabbage"..........
Ray.

 

Why weren't diesel locos ordered before? Forest fires are nothing new in the US.

 

Whilst the D&S already have at least 3 diesels (none of which are powerful enough to replace steam) steam haulage is the big draw for many of their customers. Last summer was unusually hot and dry following a very dry winter/spring which greatly increased the fire risk. This winter/spring has had much more snow than 'normal' so, hopefully, the fire risk will be much less.
Ray.

 

Southern Pacific #18 suffers shattered piston on the Durango and Silverton
Another problem

 

There was a problem but that was way back on the 9th April. Since then SP #18 has been repaired in the Durango shops and has been back in traffic since 18th July. The D&S don't hang around.
There's a video of the loco's first day back here https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=8Xnq435_N4M
Ray.

 

Firstly, thank goodness discussions are over monetary costs, rather than lost lives. From experience, even moderately sized blazes are frightening. A conflagration on this scale must be an almost unimaginably terrifying thing to witness.

A key aspect in this appears to be the speed at which the fire took hold, in reportedly tinder dry conditions. One article mentioned a local who owns a vehicle rigged with a water tank, as a 'brushfire tender' (from the description, it seems an unofficial arrangement his own sense of responsibility led him to adopt), with said article mentioning that in the less than 3mins it took him to reach the fire, wind strength meant the blaze was already beyond his ability to control, much less extinguish.

Having read three separate reports on the incident, it's clear that local concerns over safety are matched by realisation of the D&S's vital importance to the region's economy. Let's hope a solution is foumd that allows the D&S to survive this episode and that the lessons learned are reflected in better operating guidelines.

 

I assume you are referring to last year's blaze aka the 416 fire. I have followed this quite closely on the U.S. sites since the fire was first reported and have still not seen any hard evidence that the D&S actually started it. Many similarly large fires in the region have started from lightning strikes, discarded cigarettes, camp fires and even a chain saw. There is always the possibility of arson. One particularly nasty fire, near my wife's hometown, was started by a teenager who was also a member of the local volunteer fire dept!
There are a significant, vociferous number of 'new residents' around Durango (whose livelihood doesn't depend on seasonal tourism) that are opposed to the railroad and would like to see it gone.
Just last week a small fire broke out adjacent to the track and was immediately blamed on the D&S by the local 'rag' despite the photographic evidence showing no sign of the train starting it. The line is actually downhill at this point and the loco would be coasting. The whole story can be read here http://ngdiscussion.net/phorum/read.php?1,376128
Cheers,
Ray.