What’s your favorite steam tourist line? Why do you like it?
Authenticity? Speed? Scenery? Equipment? Near other stuff? Near where you live?
How about the worst?
Cass Scenic – Shays all over the place! Isn’t that what John Denver meant by “Almost Heaven - West Virginia”?
Due to a cracked saddle block - our local steam tourist line has been dieselized for several years while repairs are made - but a spring trip from Austin to Burnet is still very pleasant.
dd
Mne is the Durango&Silverton RR.When I rode the line it was still owned by the D&RGW.I was there in 1967 and walked all over the roundhouse and shops area.They still had the coaling tower in use at that time.You can’t get any more authentic than that[:)]!
Scenically, I favor the Durango and Silverton. However, railfanning the D&S isn’t the greatest. I love the access that the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic provides. I’ve done night shots there of idling locomotives and such.
It also seems like the C&TS is less “touristy” and more like an authentic railraod than the D&S. Wandering around the Chama yard watching the chores be done on the locomotives is probably as close as this 24 year old will ever get to “real” steam railroading.
I’m also a fan of the Mid-Continent Railway Museum, though I am starting to wonder when I’ll ever see steam there again.[:(]
Chris May
Denver, CO