Mid August 2007 we received a frantic call from a member of the 315 restoration group. They needed to borrow our tender trucks for the 9th Annual Railfest in Durango, Colorado. They had finished the restoration of the locomotive and had just learned that their tender trucks could not be used. We jacked up our tender frame and they set a trailer to pick up the trucks. When our trucks arrived in Durango, the Durango & Silverton (D&S) Railroad shops inspected our trucks and did some minor repair. We also learned that one of the wheel flanges was slightly under specification for width so the D&S installed a new wheel set. On our way down to pick up the couplers we were able to talk with several of the maintenance people at the D&S railroad. They were very helpful and freely gave of their time. We expect the trucks to be returned to us in October 2007. Since we are building the tender tank on the frame, jacking up the frame and the removal of the trucks has curtailed our restoration effort in this area.
RETURN OF THE TRUCKS
Saturday, Nov. 10 the president of the durango RR Historical Society, George Niederauer and an associate brought the two sets of tender trucks back. Some refurbishment was done by the shops in Durango. Most of the Golden Spike Chapter crew were there to assist in getting the trucks back under the tender.
