Cumbres & Toltec moves rotary OY to restoration for use in 2020 events
Time to join the rotary club out West
despite obstacle after obstacle.
The locomotive last operated in
1956, and its return to service at
Western Maryland Scenic is
seen as a potential breakthrough
for the tourist railroad that has
suffered from a host of issues
unrelated to the locomotive, the
biggest being a problematic
landslide area near Frostburg,
Md., that closed the end of the
line for months.
Restored, No. 1309 will be
the only articulated in regular
operation in the Eastern U.S.,
and the world’s largest operat-
ing compound Mallet — that is
a locomotive that uses its steam
twice to drive two sets of cylin-
ders. Its new home is a 17-mile
mountain railroad including
the famous Western Maryland
Railway location known as
Helmstetter’s Curve, and its
new Appalachian location is
not far from its Chesapeake &
Ohio roots in the coal fields of
West Virginia.
But right now there is still
work to be done, and that’sevident when you talk to the
railroad and project managers
who have weathered the proj-
ect’s many ups and downs and
are eager to see it finished.
“We won’t announce a com-
pletion date or set an inaugural
trip until after we have an oper-
ating locomotive,” Garner says.
“We are eager to get the engine
into operation, but we want to
do the restoration right, break in
the engine, and present it so that
it is safe and reliable. That’s our
goal, and we’re sticking to it.”He says that local support is
coming from Allegany County
and the cities of Cumberland
and Frostburg to prepare the
tracks for No. 1309. The three
entities are providing $90,000
for tie replacement.
Trains magazine gave its
2015 $10,000 Preservation
Award to the project. Since then,
readers have supported the
project with more than $75,000
in donations, which are still
being accepted at wmsr.com.
— Jim WrinnTHE CUMBRES & TOLTEC SCENIC has moved
its 3-foot-gauge rotary snow plow from
Chama, N.M., to Antonito, Colo., for resto-
ration. The railroad says it will use rotary
OY in late February or early March 2020 to
kick off the railroad’s 50th anniversary year.
The rotary has not been used since 1997.
C&TS Assistant General Manager
Stathi Pappas says the rotary is in “re-
markable shape,” but that it does need me-
chanical and cosmetic work. The railroad
will do most of the mechanical work and
the nonprofit Friends of the Cumbres &
Toltec Scenic Railroad will spearhead the
cosmetic work.
Cumbres & Toltec President John Bush
explains why Denver & Rio Grande West-
ern K-27 No. 463 pushed the rotary on
June 13 from Chama to the summit of
10,000-foot Cumbres Pass, where it was
turned on the wye and placed at the rear of
the two-car train. This was done for safety
and for unique photo opportunities.
“We did not want the rotary downgrade
of the locomotive at this time,” Bush says.
“It hasn’t been used in a number of years so
we want to move it as safely as possible.”
The railroad says an exact date has not
been selected for the late winter and early
spring 2020 runs. The railroad plans to use
the rotary over two days to clear as much
as possible of the 64-mile railroad that is
often drenched in feet of snow that cover
the San Juan Mountains each winter. The
railroad is offering a limited number of
tickets to see the event and those who are
interested in attending should email[email protected].
Alco built OY for the Denver & Rio
Grande Western Railroad in 1923. It was
once part of a mighty fleet of steam-pow-
ered rotary snowplows that kept — or at
least tried to keep — Cumbres Pass open
every winter. Now many will be able to
see it in action again and relive the days
when it was an essential part of the rail-
road. — Justin FranzTrainsMag.com 53No. 1309 is painted and lettered, and the boiler has been fired and
steam-tested twice in preparation for wheeling the massive 2-6-6-2.
Cumbres & Toltec K-27 No. 463 rounds Windy Point near the summit of Cumbres Pass with
rotary OY on the point on June 13, 2019. OY is set for restoration and 2020 operations. Roger HoganSix-coupled drivers for No. 1309 have been prepped with siderods
installed before being placed under the boiler of the 1949 locomotive.