Just got home from a week in Chama & Taos New Mexico. What a beautiful time of year in the mountains & the desert! Anyway, we took the C&TRR round trip from Chama to Osier & return, and although I’ve done it before it was still quite a thrill.
The folks that run the RR do a terrific job, and the equipment reflected that. All of the personnel were very friendly and knowledgeable and made us feel “at home”. Also, the weather was terrific, and we saw many deer and elk and most folks saw two bears (but I never did find them). The lunch at Osier was definitely outstanding. We had the turkey dinner and it was like Thanksgiving!!! Ohhh, and the chocolate cake was a real treat too.
Riding on the C&TRR gives one a real look at how this kind of railroading was 100 years ago - with all the sights, sounds, and of course smells of a hard working, coal powered steam train.
I’ve modeled big time railroads in HO for the last 50 years, but seeing the beauty of narrow gauge mountain railroading makes me think about trying On30…
Anyway, for those of you that have never ridden the C&TRR, I highly recommend it!
Hey Mobil Man. We rode that train about 3 weeks ago. We had a great time. THere was still some snow in places , and a lot at the Cumbres pass. Did you meet a docent on your train? We had 2 docents. Rich & Frank. We also talked to Frank Turner, the CEO.
Yes, we had a docent as well, and I believe it was Frank (as he mentioned Rich was on the train from Antonito - or I may have got that reversed). All the folks we talked to were extremely knowledgeable and gave good answers to all the questions people thru at them.
On our way to Chama we drove route 17 thru Cumbres Pass and there was plenty of snow around there as well as other places. My wife (native Houstonian) played in the snow, while I (native Chicagoan) took pictures!
I have to say that the altitude was a bit difficult for us (age 64/60) and the allergies were rampant. The folks at the Elkhorn Lodge ( I highly recommend it) said that many locals were suffering from all the “stuff” in the air this year.
I was there in 2002, it was a great time…stayed at the choo choo in??? some rail themed motel in chama, I RECOGMEND THE STAY…very friendly, clean rooms, good food. anyway the trip was great, A COUPLER broke on the engine halfway up, that added interest.
The C&TSRR is one of the best railroading experiences out there in my book. Like was said, the crew and food are great. The scenery may not be as rough as the D&SNRR but the Cumbres line actually moves around the landscape and does some hill climbing. Where else can you tour turn of the century yards and facilities (including shops) for free and without being asked to leave.
I road on a train pulled by K37 497 when it was still being run on the Durango & Silverton back in the 80’s, road on the cumbres & toltec a few years later (chama to antonito then bus back to chama) highlight of that trip was getting the back of my neck (and lower back when it went down my shirt) burned by a hot ember from K36 487 while riding behind it in the open gondola
Im planning to visit there again when I go down to Colorado for a week of in August, still havent desided what trip to do, Im either going to do Chama to Osier or go to Alamosa and ride the Rio Grande Scenic down to Antonito then to Osier and back, RGS back to Alamosa and dinner somewhere there in town before heading back to the hotel in Durango for the night
My first trip on the C&T I spent time in the open gondola and even with sunglasses I got a cinder in the eye (not an ember thank goodness!). This last trip I stayed in the coach - but still had to wash out my eyes.
Riding in the open gondola is terrific fun, but please bring some real good goggles with you!!!
So does anyone know if 463 or 497 are running or not? I was up at the Huckleberry RR in Flint Michigan on friday visiting 464 and the train crew said that 464 was currently the only operating K27 and that 463 was still in the shops [sigh]
A “docent” is an informed person - expert - in their area of expertise. I’m not gonna lie to you all, I had to look it up in the ol Funk & Wagnell. In the case of the C&TSRR, these folks volunteer to act as informal guides on the train rides and answer questions, etc. They are definitely “good people” and I believe they really love their work!
To answer the other question about the two particular locos, I can only say I don’t recall seeing them. We rode behind 484 and 487, and I was just not paying attention to other loco numbers.
Hi mobilman. My fiance and I were in New Braunfels at the railroad museum 2 weeks ago and spoke to a gentleman there who said he was about to go to Colorado to ride the narrow gauge trains. Was that you? It seems awfully coincidental to have 2 random Texans planning to go to the same place at the same time.
No, that wasn’t me…but coincidently we are planning to drive to New Braunsville in a few weeks for a “day trip”.
Texas is a BIG state! I am a native Chicagoan, but have called Texas home since 1977. To drive from Houston north thru the Panhandle is about a 700 mile trip. Or better yet, drive I-10 from Louisiana to New Mexico - which is over 800 miles!
I got off track a bit there, but my point is that the MR community in Texas doesn’t seem like much at first - as compared with Chicago or eastern cities. But after you have been here you realize there are a lot of train nuts here, but they are spread out over so much territory.
Short story… When I was a “boss”, a nice 23 year old man recently out of Texas A&M came to work in my group which was in Houston. Shortly thereafter, he was to go to Washington DC on business, and he told me it was the first time he was out of Texas! I thought that was the strangest thing I had ever heard - until I realized that if I put the state of Texas over Chicago, with his home town (Nixon) centered over my home town, then I had never exceeded the Texas boundaries until I was in my early 30s!
My first look at this site. Enjoyed the comments about the Cumbres & Toltec.
My wife and I have ridden the train 13 times. I have not ridden the White Pass & Yukon, but I believe the C&ts is the best train ride in America. We believe the trip from Chama to Anotnito is the best because on all of our trips they have hooked two steamers together and worked up the East slope of the Rockies. At Cumbres Pass they unhook the lead unit and send it back.
As mentioned, the food is great unlike in the past when it was passable at best. Great caterer. On our early runs the tracks were very rough (which was in fact fun). I have a video out the front window in the car of the door of the next car. Sometimes it seemed that the car ahead was on a different track.
Anyway, if you only do one steam train trip in your life do the C&TS. Also plan to do the Rio Grande Scenic, out of Alamosa and of course the Durango & Silverton out of Durango, about 100 miles away.
Was there in 2004. An unforgettable ride on the C&TSRR. Also had a great stay in Chama with a great family style guesthouse. What would be Chama without the C&TSRR?.
The friends of the C&TSRR are good workers, you can see what they have done to restore or repair engines, rolling stock etc… Thanks for all that work, that makes up for a fine team with best results for the visitors and the riders.
All in all, it’s a decent operation. I spent a summer driving the motorcoaches for the contract operator there-the coaches are based out of my hometown of Tucson, Arizona. 17’s a nasty road if you’re in anything other than a small car-saw the results of a fatal single vehicle accident just below Windy Point. Make a mistake on that road and you may not live.
Nice folks on the railroad overall. Last ride I took was on the parlor car of the eastbound train. They still had space available the day of the trip and as I was wrapping up a three month stint, I got my transportation for $1.00. What was great was that they were short on operable locomotives, so they were only running one direction each day on weekdays. That meant the parlor car stayed at the rear for the entire trip. Rode the rear platform with the Brakeman and had a good time swapping stories.
