# Gramps Lube Rack?



## John J (Dec 29, 2007)

When I go to the Web Cams on Cumbers and Toltec RR One of the cameras is labeled Gramps Lube Rack 


I remember seeing some Tank cars with the label Gramps on the side 

Is there any correlation between the two?

JJ


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By John J on 26 Jan 2014 02:39 AM 
When I go to the Web Cams on Cumbers and Toltec RR One of the cameras is labeled Gramps Lube Rack 


I remember seeing some Tank cars with the label Gramps on the side 

Is there any correlation between the two?

JJ 

JJ,

There is definitely a correlation. Called the Gramps Oil Rack. In the mid to late fifties, there was an oil boom near Farmington, New Mexico. Oil was off-loaded here for shipment to other points.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

JJ


"Gramps" was a local oil producer (Company) in the San Juan basin area around Farmington, as stated by Gary.


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## Randy Stone (Jan 2, 2008)

Mid 50s? I always figured the Gramps cars were from a much earlier time frame. Guess they might fit right in with a D&RGW freight pulled by my RS-3. How about that, I learned something new today.

I so wish the manufacturers or some knowing soul would publish a list of locos and frt cars showing the time frame they were used. I try to model mid forties to mid sixties time frame. So my LGB Moguls, LGB 2-4-0 little steamers, Aristo Craft Pacific, RS-3s, S4, NW-2s, FA1s and F3s all fit right in, but frt cars are so hard to know.


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Randy, the GRAMPS cars were narrow gauge. They would have been pulled by Ks, most likely 36s and 37s. The pipe gons were for taking drill stems and casings out to the oil fields around Farmington. There was dual gauge track between Antonito and Alamosa. They used idler cars there and had mixed gauge freights on that section of track. So it is possible a diesel might have pulled a GRAMPS car there. The narrow gauge cars were much smaller than the SG cars. Chuck


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## Dr Rivet (Jan 5, 2008)

JJ / Randy - taken directly from the drgw.net web page: 

Gramps Oil 

Around 1935, oil was discovered approximately 13 miles NNW of Chama, NM, due east of Chromo, at what would become known as the "Gramps Oil Field". The field was owned by Lafayette "Gramps" Hughes. His company moved oil from these wells by pipeline across the Continental Divide to holding tanks and a narrow gauge loading dock at Chama. The system was largely a siphon, with no en-route pumping stations. There are reports that the pipe actually travelled in a wooden box for large sections, insulated with sawdust, to keep the oil warm and fluid enough to make the trip. 

At Chama, the oil was loaded into narrow gauge UTLX tank cars for the trip to the Oriental Refinery (sometimes called the Gramps Refinery) in Alamosa, CO. The cars were then sent back light to Chama. When the field was at peak production (1100-1300 bbl/day), this would amount to a fully-loaded 11-car oil train to Cumbres Pass daily. 

The operation continued until late 1964. At some point in 1964, the refinery apparently suffered a fire, and repairs/replacement on such a small facility was considered uneconomical. The refinery closed down during September of 1964, and the oil traffic over Cumbres Pass ceased.1 The loss of traffic was a significant blow to all-season operations on the narrow gauge, as the winter of 1964 was the first time the line was shut down. 

Oil from the field from 1964 until production ended in the 1980s-1990s was sent by truck to Farmington, NM instead. 
Oriental Refinery Notes 

The Oriental Refinery in Alamosa operated from ??? until September of 1964.1 

As a side note, the refinery used the boilers of two ex-D&SL 2-6-6-0s to provide steam.2 
Gramps Oil Tank Cars 

Gramps Oil never actually owned any of the tank cars carrying their oil over the narrow gauge. Gramps leased a number of the cars of Union Tank Car (UTLX). Numerous reports claim that Lafayette Hughes had them painted "Gramps" so that his grandchildren would know which cars belonged to their grandfather (aka the namesake "Gramps" in Gramps Oil). 
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EDIT - The frameless tank cars were "Van ****" designed in the mid-teens. UTLX provided the D&RGW with narrow gauge trucks to use on these old former standard gauge cars. There is a detailed discussion of all this in Robert Sloan's book "A Century and Ten of Rio Grande freight cars". Excellent reference.


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## Rich Muth (Jan 2, 2008)

Actually the Gramps name refers to a gentleman named Lafayette Hughes who owned an oilfield about twelve miles Northwest of Chama in the upper reaches of the Navajo River (west, on the good side, of the Continental Divide) !! The oil from that field was sent by pipeline to storage tanks in Chama and then to the loading rack for shipment to the Oriental Refinery in Alamosa!

The oilfield was named the Gramps and the tank cars were lettered "Gramps" so his grand kids would know who's oil is was (so the story goes)! I live in the Navajo valley about five miles west of where the oilfield was.

Rich


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## Rich Muth (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim: Great minds think alike! Thanks for your detailed post!


Rich


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Jim qnd Rich,

Thanks for the great history about Gramps Oil and Chama. I always wondered about that operation. Good stuff!


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## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

Very interesting stuff... tks..


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks JJ, Jim, and Rich. I certainly learned a lot, some of which I should have known, but didn't. Chuck


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## San Juan (Jan 3, 2008)

Here's my version of the Chama oil loading dock, complete with Gramps tanks:










The oil loading dock was custom built by J S Woodcrafts and the Gramps tank cars are by Precision Scale.

Here are 2 links to larger images of the oil loading dock:

Large Image 1

Large Image 2


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