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Monday, October 17, 2022

The Scenic Cumbres and Toltec Railroad



My husband and I love the adventure of a steam engine railroad ride and we were excited to take a 6-hour ride on the very scenic Cumbres and Toltec Railroad recently, taking the ride from Antonito, Colorado to Chama, New Mexico. 

The train's website describes it perfectly:
"The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a National Historic Landmark.  At 64-miles in length, it is the longest, the highest and most authentic steam railroad in North America, traveling through some of the most spectacular scenery in the Rocky Mountain West.

Owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico, the train crosses state borders 11 times, zigzagging along canyon walls, burrowing through two tunnels, and steaming over 137-foot Cascade Trestle. All trains steam along through deep forests of aspens and evergreens, across high plains filled with wildflowers, and through a rocky gorge of remarkable geologic formations."





The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande’s narrow gauge San Juan Extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan mountains in southwestern Colorado. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890.  Through the years the line became less and less used and finally abandoned. Happily, railway preservationists had the foresight to save the most scenic portion of the line. In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly purchased the track and line-side structures from Antonito to Chama.




When taking the train from the Antonito, Colorado station we first passed over the vast high-elevation San Luis Valley, which has an average elevation of 7,664 feet (2,336 m) above sea level.  My husband and I went out to the stand-up open car as soon as our tickets were punched as we wanted to see all the scenery. A herd of Pronghorns ran across the tracks in the distance at this point, but they were so fast I couldn't catch a good photo of them.




A short Youtube video I took of the train traveling in the San Luis Valley at the beginning of our ride.






The train quickly covers the flat ground and reaches a series of hills. It crosses Ferguson’s Trestle, named for a man who was hung there. 


It then climbs to a lava mesa, a remnant of the mountain's volcanic past. From here, the route winds around wide curves, going up into the mountains.  




We took the train ride the last week in September, so I was concerned that the fall color would not be very bright as yet, but the higher we went in elevation the more golden the aspens became.






The train track was very close to the edge of the mountain summit cliffs and my husband and I marveled over the construction and all the effort it must have taken to lay all the track.




The train passed by Sublette.  Sublette was the home of station gangs, the workers who maintained the right-of-way ties, ballast, and rails. During early railroad operations, the telegraph and trains were the only communication for folks living there.




We passed through the 342-foot Mud Tunnel which requires wooden supports to hold up the tunnel roof and walls.







We were now in an attractive geologic area of volcanic lava rock.





The views were beautiful!




The autumn color was really popping here.






So many aspen trees!






We really enjoyed the views!



We passed alongside many beautiful aspen groves and views of deep valleys and then entered the 360-foot-long Rock Tunnel which opened up to 600 feet above Toltec Gorge,  To see a video of our exciting ride through the tunnel and our first view of the gorge click here to see my YouTube short.  You can also see the square granite Garfield Monument towards the end of this video.  It was erected by railroad ticket agents and dedicated to the memory of  President James A. Garfield after his assassination in 1881.




If you look in the distance you can see the railroad track along the cliffside, where we had just traveled.  





The train stopped at Osier, Colorado where we were given a delicious cafeteria-style barbecue lunch included in our train ticket.





After lunch, we had a good view of the Rio de Los Pinos River when we were back on board the train.



The train passed over the Cascade Trestle that spanned 137 feet over Cascade Creek.





The train continued on over many curves which helped it gain elevation.





My husband's hand pointed to an eagle flying high overhead!




The train had to work hard to climb up to Cumbres Pass, the highest point on the railroad at 10,015 feet (3,052,5m) above sea level.  The Cumbres and Toltec Railroad travels the highest of any train in North America!  Fierce winter storms sometimes leave snow drifts of 20 feet or more.




More spectacular views!





As the train approached Chama, New Mexico, we were told of its role in some movies, as we passed a prop wooden tower that was used in an Indiana Jones movie in 1989.  When we reached the station we could see another engine and train that will make the trip from Chama to Antonito the next day.  We could also see the coach bus that was waiting to bring us back to Antonito.  The bus ride was also included in our train ticket and only took one hour as it took a very direct, but equally scenic, route.

We really enjoyed our day on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad and could see why it has been voted the best and most scenic train ride in America by readers of USA Today (2016, 2019, 2020)

If you'd like to see other train rides we've taken in Colorado you can see all ten prior posts at this tab. We have taken the Georgetown Loop many times, The Royal Gorge Railroad twice, the Leadville Colorado and Southern Railroad, and even the Tiny Town miniature railroad and we still have a few more train rides we are looking forward to taking in the future.  I hope you enjoyed taking a virtual trip on this historic and scenic Cumbres and Toltec Railroad with me.

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40 comments:

  1. Oh, how wonderful!!! I would SO love to do that train ride! I'm going to put it on my Bucket List! I have a bono fide bucket list gifted to me by Sister Rita. I'm thinking next year!

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  2. Hello Pat,

    What a great train ride, the scenic views are beautiful. I love the mountains, the Aspens and great sighting of the Eagle. Beautiful photos.
    Take care, have a great day and happy new week!

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  3. I absolutely enjoyed this virtual trip!

    What an amazing train ride!

    The views are spectacular!

    WOW!

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  4. Thankyou for the tour - wonderful scenery. I have been thinking lately I would llike to go on a train trip. Happy travels and enjoy your week. I am joining you at Mosaic Monday.

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  5. Those views are amazing. It sounds like a wonderful way to spend a fall day.

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  6. My husband would LOVE to take this train trip!
    You and Vinny rode at the best time of year--while the autumn leaves are 'blooming'.

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  7. What a great ride! I wonder if all those cars were also full of people...that would have been a lot more than one bus load! Loved your pics!

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  8. ...for me, the scenery got a lot more interesting when the trees started to appear!

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  9. I haven't seen a steam engine train since I was a kid. I love the sound and sight of them.
    Thanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2022/10/some-more-fun-with-botanical-drawing.html

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  10. Oh wow.. this looks absolutely incredible. What a view.

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  11. Those views are amazing! I can not get over all those bright yellow trees... we rarely have trees of any one color near each other here with bright yellows, oranges, and red.

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  12. I was reading this post to my hubby...we are both train crazy right now...and he said he would have to pull me out from under my seat! lol I hope I would be brave enough to look all around. It's spectacular! And you even saw an Eagle! WOW! I would love to ride on this train. Give me a sedative and I'll be good to go! hahaha!

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  13. I think I lost my comment but I'll come back later and check! Hugs!

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  14. What a railway trip - that scenery is stunning!

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  15. I am jealous I want to go on that train ride what wonderful scenery thanks for the tour :-)

    Have a scenictastic week 👍

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  16. That does look like an amazing train ride. Your photos are spectacular! Great Autumn color for sure.

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  17. Wonderful autumn display when the train gets around the woods

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  18. I recognized that locomotive instantly, because I photographed it in the yard several years ago. But I wasn't as lucky as you: I never got to ride the train. What a beautiful journey you had!

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  19. Patricia, What a fabulous train ride and an even more perfect time of year to enjoy the ride! #goals

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  20. Hi, what a beautiful ride, it seems magical! :) Thanks for sharing. Greetings from Portugal, Raquel

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  21. That looks like an extraordinary and joyful outing. Love the romance of the steam engine and the beautiful vistas. I'm especially wild about your gorgeous aspens. They're stunning.

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  22. That was beautiful Pat! Wonderful pictures and as always with you it feels as if I'd been along on the trip. But I've still added the link to my "to be visited in Colorado" data base! (So many wonderful places ... and my list keeps getting longer. Stunning pictures -- you really took this trip at the perfect time -- aspens in full golden dress! Thank you for sharing~

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  23. The only scenic train rides I have done in the US have been in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Smokey Mountains. I loved the beautiful pictures of the landscape on your ride. It is neat to discover other places in the country.
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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  24. What a beautiful ride, and a beautiful day for it. I would love to take that train trip. Aspen trees are so pretty - we don't have them here, but when we go to the mountains I enjoy them so much.
    Can I ask a blog question? I put up two videos of bears on my new Youtube channel, but don't know how to have the videos themselves show up on my blog. I just have links to the sites.
    Thanks, Pat. Have a great day!

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  25. wow
    beautiful Pictures
    I love the old steam engine train
    and the colours of autumn
    Rosi

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  26. Yes I did enjoy the train ride with you. It sure does go high. The colours and scenery are beautiful. There are lots of railways in your state. Lucky for you.

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  27. Looks like fun, and wow, that scenery!! So many photo opportunities.

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  28. What a trip!! I love all the aspens and the mountains, valleys, and streams.

    I've taken the Durango to Silverton train several times and love the old time travel. A bus back is the only way to do it though.

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  29. Wonderful photo's. Sounds like a great day. Years ago hubby and I took the Leadville one I think. And we took one in Canada way back when too, wonderful views.

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  30. How wonderful! You really had a fun time with your husband. Memories being made. I enjoyed the virtual train trip too. Thank you.

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  31. Beautiful trip. Beautiful memories. I love the photos of the colourful aspens.

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  32. What a beautiful landscape! And to be able to see that in such a special train8
    This must be an experience you will never forget!

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  33. Wow! This looks incredible! I would love to do this!

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  34. I would love to do that. There is an old-time train here that does a shorter ride and we took it many times as children...Michelle

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  35. Maybe this third time will please blogger...I would love to do this...

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  36. Train trips are the best! What fabulous views you had.

    Thanks for sharing your link at My Corner of the World this week!

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