Steamscape: Milepost 285. A Denver & Rio Grande Western Freight highballs westbound out of Antonito, Colorado, bound for Cumbres Pass with a mixed consist of stockers, tanks, boxcars and gons. Leading the charge today is a D&RGW C-18 Consolidation carrying the road number 315. Providing the mid-consist muscle is Locomotive 463, a K-27 Mikado, affectionately known as a "Mudhen". The first 15 miles or so of the line out of Antonito are a wide-open desert landscape, which is relatively flat at first, then becoming a slow, steady, meandering climb as the train approaches the high country to the west.
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are all that remains of the legendary Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge system. Here you'll find some of my favorites from these two beautiful railways.
