By the late 1950s the final chapter had been written for mainline steam in North America, with the happy exception of those retained for excursion and public relation services, lines of dead steam locomotives awaited the scrapper's torch. However nestled in the mountains of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico the beat of the iron horse still labored on in freight service for the Denver & Rio Grande Western. Today the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad continues the traditions of the Rio Grande on the formers crossing of Cumbres Pass between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO and just as it was then, steam is still king. Recalling scenes that would other wise be lost to time, Rio Grande K-36s 489 and 484 bark up Tangle Foot Curve on the eastern slope of Cumbres Pass, bent on the 10,015' summit of Cumbres, CO. The pair of veteran Baldwins were built in 1925 and thanks to the C&TSRR, and on this day 'Chama Steam', the two continue to pull visitors back in time, to an era all but lost to the pages of history.
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.
