I've always felt that you should go somewhere for a reason. I've been a member of the Friends of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad for a number of years - inspired by the time I worked there whilst filming "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". They run work sessions several times a year and being out of work, I decided to drive to Northern New Mexico/Southern Colorado and take part in the last session of the year. In my Dormobile, naturally. Being as its a bit slow, Route 66 was my choice again, for much of the 2,500 miles or more to get there and back.
- I think I'm on the right road here.
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I stopped by Monument Valley along the way.
- This place is big!
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The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is a remnant of the San Juan Extension of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad 3ft narrow gauge and was shut down by the railroad in the late 1960's. It was bought by the states of New Mexico and Colorado and is preserved as a living museum of steam-powered mountain railroading. It is awesome!
It took me 4 days to drive there. After all, a gentleman never motors about after dark.
- The Saturday train to Antonito loads to 10 coaches and needs double heading to reach the top of Cumbres pass.
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I took the train over the 64 miles between Chama and Antonito which crosses the border between the 2 states 16 times. Interestingly, the journey takes 7 hours, with an hour's stop for lunch. Its like a child scribbled on a map and a bunch of Irish navvies built it. The reason is because the line climbs from 7,000ft to 10,000ft in 14 miles with fearsome grades that means the line loops in and around the terrain to gain and then lose height. The bus journey back to the start takes just 70 minutes.....
I spent my week working in the workshops at Antonito, mostly on the lathe, making components for a new batch of passenger bogies for restored coaches. I last used a lathe more than 40 years ago whilst working for British Railways workshops. I remembered more than I thought, to the extent that people thought I actually knew what I was doing. It was a great week and a load of fun. But at the end of the week it was time to head home. i drove back via Flagstaff in Arizona to help TeriAnn Wakeman with replacing the canvass on her Dormie - a job that is impossible to do single-handed.
So, after 3 weeks on the road I got home. During that time, I passed exactly 6 vehicles and 5 of those were bicycles. The 6th was the 10am Eastbound train out of Chama, struggling up the grade to Cumbres Pass. Unmissable!
Ian
- Coaling the locomotives at Antonito.
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P.S. Technical issues - none. About a quart of oil a day per 300 miles. The exhaust is unlikely to rust.
Super, thanks so much for sharing those three weeks with us.