"It's home."
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is undoubtedly one of greatest places on earth, and anyone who cherishes the unmistakable sights and sounds of Rio Grande narrow gauge steam will tell you that there's simply no place they would rather be. In the fall of 2023, after an absence of 5 years, The Big Banana Railfan finally returned to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, to capture the sheer majesty, emotion and power that only the Rio Grande narrow gauge railroads can provide. The K-class 2-8-2 Mikado locomotives are a sight to behold with their outside frame design and amazing sound. Hearing the whistles echo off the mountainsides sends chills to most, bringing a sense of adventure in a territory of railroads that has a dream-like sense of beauty surrounding it.
Located in Chama, New Mexico and straddling the Colorado-New Mexico State line for 64 miles to Antonito, CO, the Cumbres & Toltec is the highest and longest narrow gauge steam railroad in North America, reaching Cumbres Pass at 10,015 feet. It also features some of the world’s best scenery, scaling rugged mountains, traversing deep canyons, spanning high trestles, plunging through a pair of tunnels, and all the while keeping an old world atmosphere in a place where the 21st century seems non-existent, and time stands still with the pure and untouched mountain scenery. The spectacular works of Mother Nature that can be found here are among the best that the old West can provide. The buildings, water tanks, freight cars and locomotives are all original and true to the D&RGW. The C&TS boasts the largest collection of narrow gauge rolling stock in the country and the locomotives both look and sound just as amazing as they did when under Rio Grande ownership. When one visits the yard in Chama, and sees the daily preparations of the engines, it can truly be any year, as railroaders repeat the exact same rituals that have been commonplace here since the Rio Grande Days a century prior.
We spent 3 days shooting the C&TS in peak foliage, capturing a variety of different trains with 4 locomotives fighting up the steep grades to Cumbres. The fall colors had reached their peak later than usual, giving us bright golden aspen trees dotting mammoth mountains. One day even found a doubleheader with C-18 2-8-0 #315 on the point, a true rarity in itself. On this day, the train ran at the exact same time as an ultra-rare annular eclipse was putting on a show of it's own in the clear Rocky Mountain autumn sky, and witnessing both happening simultaneously was a once in a lifetime experience. In addition to #315, we also saw three of the railroad’s own locomotives, including K-27 #463 and K-36’s #484 & #488.
This video focuses on the Western portion of the railroad, over a 20-mile span between Chama, NM and Los Pinos, CO. We begin by watching the daily preparations of the locomotives in the Chama Yard, before witnessing the dramatic sights of the trains fighting up the 4% grade to Cumbres Pass. At Cumbres, we follow #315 returning light down to Chama following helper service on the doubleheader, before continuing east with the regular passenger trains as they drift downgrade to Los Pinos. Finally, we’ll see the westbound trains tackling the lighter 2.5% grade to Cumbres, before negotiating the long descent to Chama.
So sit back, relax, and enjoy the awesome scenery and exciting steam action that can only be found on the Cumbres & Toltec!
Special Thanks to ‪@ArkansasLocomotiveWorks‬ for providing additional footage!