STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - John Harper of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum said spark arresters, which employ a screen and small water nozzles on the stacks of the steam engines, reduce the chances of hot cinders escaping and starting fires. Engine watchman Robin Schanbarger looks over a train returning to the station on Friday evening.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Hugh Tracy waits for a train on Saturday morning in Hermosa.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Patrick Welch, left, Hugh Tracy, center, and Kryn Dykema hook up a water tank to a pop car on Saturday morning in Hermosa.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Robert Manore, left, and Hugh Tracy of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad look for signs of fire while traveling in a gang car behind one of the trains making the trip to Silverton on Saturday morning. Manore said the gang car and another smaller pop car carry water tanks, fire fighting tools, hoses and pumps to extinguish potential fires caused by the coal-fired steam engines. Manore said there are also two 7,000 gallon tank cars at their disposal and a helicopter with a water bucket that patrols the tracks all the way to Silverton.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - “If our guys miss anything on the ground, our helicopter will see it,” said Al Harper, owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum. Pilot Greg Harral of New Air Helicopters, said he flies the entire length of the railroad from Durango to Silverton twice a day during the height of the fire season looking for signs of fire.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - John Harper, left, and Hugh Tracy prepare to follow one of the trains to Silverton on Saturday morning in Hermosa.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Operator Kryn Dykema checks one of the portable metal water tanks on Saturday morning in Hermosa.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - John Harper of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad works next to one of the two large water cars used for fighting fires along the railroad tracks on Friday evening at Rockwood.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - A pop car outfitted with a water tank follows one of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trains on its journey back to Durango from Silverton on Friday afternoon.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Josh Levine tops off one of the water tanks on Saturday morning in Hermosa. At right is Patrick Welch.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Fire lines are created wherever possible along the route to Silverton to stem the growth of any possible fires created by the coal-powered steam engines, according to Robert Manore, roadmaster for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Patrick Welch, left, and Kryn Dykema follow one of the trains up to Silverton on Saturday morning in Hermosa.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - A pop car outfitted with a water tank follows one of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trains on its journey back to Durango from Silverton on Friday afternoon.
STEVE LEWIS/Durango Herald - Patrolman Rod Vallejos of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad follows one of the trains, keeping an eye out for fires, in a pop car outfitted with a water tank on Saturday morning. A larger gang car with three firefighters with additional water, fire retardant and suppressant, a water pump, and other firefighting equipment, also follows each train, according to John Harper, business development officer for D&SNGRR.
