The upper level of my two-level layout is all narrow gauge, depicting a portion of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Fourth Division line in southwestern Colorado and northern New Mexico.
Working on the Railroad -
Volunteering on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
In 2016, I had the privilege to be a volunteer to do restoration and repair work at one of my most favorite locations – Chama, New Mexico. As a longtime member of the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, this was my first chance to do more than just pay annual dues and receive the C&TS Dispatch. I submitted my name for 3 projects, and ended up working on repairing a leaky roof on boxcar 3591. This is not just another boxcar in the yard – this car is used to prepare the lunches for the 50+ volunteers at Chama during that week. Working with Ron Schaefer and Bob Reib, we removed and replaced the rotten roof walk and supports, and sealed the Murphy roof. We also had a great view of the action in Chama yard, as can be seen in the photos. And if you have never ridden on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, you should to have the narrow gauge experience!
 Our project: Box car #3591, the car used to prepare noon meals for all the volunteers work crews, with its leaky roof. |  I’m standing on the roof, after the rotten roof walk and supports were removed – lots of rotted wood. The train was preparing for boarding at Chama depot. We had a great view of the action in Chama! |  The rotted roof walk supports are quite visible in lower foreground, as the morning train departs. |  A close-up of a joint on the Murphy roof, showing the lipped metal sheets (10 on each side) and overlapping metal ribs, designed to cover the lip on adjacent metal sheets. The “X” cap, removed but shown in this photo, covers the intersection of the lengthwise and crosswise ribs, and is bolted through a roof walk support (not yet installed) and through the roof to the inside of the car – holding all the metal pieces together. This type roof permits metal expansion and flexing without damage. |  Here is a close-up of end roof walk in wood shop before disassembly. I thought a couple of photos might help when reassembling with new wood. They did! |
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 These new supports were cut on the band saw in the wood shop (former wool warehouse), primed, painted and bolted through the “X” caps to the roof. The intermediate supports were not yet completed. |  Now all the new roof supports were in place. |  The end roof walk is rebuilt and back on the car. The three 32’ long running boards were primed and painted, but the forklift for getting them on top of the car was not available, so the final attachment was done early the following week by other volunteers. The running boards were custom ordered from a local lumber mill. |
Fortunately, I was able to do a little impromptu railfanning with my phone when the trains departed at 10AM and arrived at 4PM. In fact, all the volunteers are encouraged to pause with their tasks and wave to the paying passengers, which I thought was pretty cool.
 The morning train was departing, and several Friends volunteers were waving. |  Loco 484, a K-36 class Mikado, is ready and passengers are gathering to board the morning train. |  The arriving train was passing the coal tipple and sand house at 4 PM, as shot from the wood shop platform. Note the loco has changed – this loco left Antonito CO in the morning. |  Fellow Friends volunteers watching the train pull in at 4PM. The box car 3016 at the left was being rebuilt as a Kitchen Storage Car with interior embellishments. |  Other projects in the Chama yard: Wheel and Tie Car 06092 was undergoing a rather complete restoration, just having received new sills. This project reminded me of the HO scale kits that are kindly referred to as “a box of sticks” – meaning a lot of assembly is required. |
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 Here, another crew was replacing rotten wood on Rail and Tie Car 06051. |  Reefer 163 with a fresh coat of paint after repairs were completed. The sign on the car is incorrect – it was NOT for sale. |
Update: Unfortunately, our repairs to 3591 did not end the leak. In 2017, the car was worked on again – with better results. The roof was hosed down to locate the leak, then the Murphy roof was disassembled, the underlying damaged wood replaced, a membrane installed, and the Murphy roof reinstalled.
I found the week spent in Chama was very rewarding and fun. After building numerous HO scale kits of these cars, it was a blast to work on the “real thing”. Many different types of projects need manpower, with a wide variety of skills. For more information, check out the Friends volunteer website.