Steamscape: Rock Tunnel. Denver & Rio Grande Western Consolidation #315 pokes her little nose out of the west portal of Rock Tunnel, as she hauls a stock extra on the slow trek to Osier, Colorado, and eventually, Chama, New Mexico.
Rock Tunnel is a tough shot to get. The high surrounding terrain puts it in shadow much of the day. Kudos to C&TS Conductor Alan Loomis for putting our freights at this spot at just the right time for a sweet photo. Although I would have enjoyed showing you more of the 315's stock train, the beautiful exhaust plume you see was unfortunately very fleeting. One scoop of coal produced about three seconds of inky black smoke....and then perfectly clean stack. Subsequent frames just looked strange. One thing this photo can't show you is the spectacular gorge behind the photographer's position. I'm told it is 660 ft. to the bottom and I can't say I ever saw the river below. The drop is so precipitous that I had no desire to get too close to the edge.
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.
