Crossing the Rio de los Pinos. A Rio Grande freight rumbles across the timber trestle that spans the Rio de los Pinos at Milepost 324.52, as it works north in the valley named for this river. One of the more beautiful locations on the Cumbres Pass route, the Los Pinos Valley represents a nearly 5-mile detour that the railroad takes on a north-south, hairpin-shaped piece of track, in order to keep the grade manageable. The locomotive pictured here is Denver & Rio Grande Western K-36 #489, the last of a class of 10, outside frame Mikados built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1925.
This image was captured during an October 2024 photo shoot on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which now operates this line as a tourist railroad. The locomotive, which was built as a coal-burner, was recently converted to burn waste oil as a fire prevention measure.
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.
