In Search of Snow - Westbound at MP 292.5. MP 292.5 has become one of my favorite photo spots on the eastern side of the present-day Cumbres & Toltec line. It's a long, straight stretch of track with a steep hill just behind my camera position. It provides a nice desert-scape with some distant mountains and you can shoot from a variety of elevations. Obviously, it works better when the sun is brighter, but it's still an interesting contrast with what the west side of the line looks like.
Some may ask about the authenticity of the water car and backhoe on the end of the train. In fact, some D&RGW work trains did bring auxiliary water cars with them, most notably the rotary outfits. In addition, it was not uncommon at all for flanger outfits to run with a bulldozer on a flat car, for exactly the same reason we brought this backhoe.....clearing out the switches at the Big Horn Wye. So although the machine on this flat is a bit newer, the concept of bringing heavy equipment along is certainly prototypical of operations in the mid-1900s.
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.
