Rio Grande M-O-W

Rio Grande Maintenance of Way Equipment

	TOP: Derrick No. 028– at Grand Junction, 8/2/98. BOTTOM: Derrick No. 028 again at Grand Junction, 12/01/2002. The wheel car / boom car is also visible.
	Spreader O44, displayed at the Hot Sulphur Springs museum. It was stationed in Utah for snow-clearing work from 1930 forward, and donated to the museum in the 1990’s.
	Flanger 052, stored at Monte Vista on 12/28/2009.
	Flanger 062, stored at Monte Vista on 12/28/2009.
	40-foot Boxcar No. AX68862— painted for MOW, at Grand Junction, 8/2/98.
	MOW Boxcar No. AX69035— at Bond, 11/30/2002. Photo taken from onboard Amtrak. The flatcar to the left is carrying panel track.
	53-foot flatcar No, AX-21015. This car has been in MOW service for a long time, outliving the D&RGW (for whom it’s lettered), the SP, and now soldiers on for Union Pacific. Here it’s spotted on the house track at Westwater, Utah, serving as a combination materials car and boom car for a small Burro crane. The linked images are QUITE LARGE to better show details. Top: From the shady side. Next: End view. You can see the interesting cross-section from here, including the way the deck is extended out over the stake pockets. Third: Opposite side. The COTS stencil is damaged. Dimensional data is legible. Note the rustmarks where a dangling chain wore off the paint. Bottom: 3/4 view at opposite end. Note the steel-sheathed corner on the extended deck, and the tackboard directly below.
	Rio Grande flatcar x-22039, multiple views. This car may have been converted to MOW service in August 1984, if I’m reading the stencils right. At any rate, it was originally in general service but later painted silver. The silver paint, however, has nearly all come off, leaving behind the later lettering and stencils (black), but revealing the original lettering beneath (white). As a result, it’s an interesting exercise to read. One interesting appliance is the Knaack tool chest welded onto the car. I found this car on the house track at Cisco on May 7, 2017. Cisco is a lonely, lonely place when the trains aren’t running, although the ghost town is no longer completely uninhabited. The locals are tolerant of photographers, so long as you respect private property and stay on the roads.
	Dozer Flatcar AX4851– complete with sideboom dozer, at Bond on 11/30/2002. (Photo taken from aboard Amtrak)
	Kitchen – Bunk car — converted passenger car at Grand Junction, 12/1/2002. This car is the former diner-lounge Mt YALE, originally built with wood sheathing in 1910 as Western Pacific’s OAKLAND, returned to D&RGW in 11/1923, later rebuilt with steel sheathing and large picture windows (1936), and retired to X-3275 in February 1953. It was used on the classy Exposition Flyer train in the 1940s, among other premier trains.
	Modern M-O-W dorm cars– at Grand Junction, 8/2/98.
	Modern M-O-W dorm car– a closer look. I don’t know the origin of the housing unit, but it rests on D&RGW AX22399, a 53′ flatcar now in company service.
	Track Speeder– Parked by east Rocky, March 1984. This particular speeder was being restored at the Glenwood Rail Museum (in the depot) circa 2006. Not sure of its current status.
	Track Tamper– Sept. 16th,1994, northbound out of Colorado Springs on the Joint Line.
	Ballast Spreader– 9/16/1994 north of Colorado Springs. There was a small parade of MOW equipment northbound on this afternoon.
	Scene at West Portal on 12/29/1994. Featured are (at left) a Fairmont track speeder, (at center) two boxcars converted to section gang use, plus a hopper and conveyor loader at far end, and (right) one of Rio Grande’s maintenance-of-way service trucks in the light blue scheme. This is No.00792, a Chevrolet C60/70 truck used for Moffat Tunnel inspections. It carries a platform on a scissors lift, and a Hiab hoist on the right side. (Thanks to Jim Eager for the details.)