Day 3 - Monday 10/26/2025 - Mid-Train Helper to Cumbres
On the second day, we had a very early wake up in order to get over to Antonito. Richard, Tom and I agreed to meet up in the Chama parking and drive up to Cumbres and meet the bus there. This was so that we could leave Richard's car at Cumbres and then get off the train there to chase down later in the day. Several other riders were doing the same thing.
We met in the Chama parking lot at 6:00am. I was able just to walk across the street and over. We got up to Cumbres and had some time to kill but wanted to ensure we were there in plenty of time. Tom helped Richard and I do some quick astro photography that I was struggling with. I had it down with my old Nikon D7000 but hadn't mastered it yet on my Z5 camera. The bus was pick us and the others up at Chama, having the rest of the riders already boarded in Chama and off we rolled to Antonito. We arrived at 7:45am or so and the train was rolling west right on time at 8:00am.
On this trip, the 487 was again the lead road engine but this time the 488 was cut about halfway back into the train. This was exactly how the D&RGW ran these trains in order to spread the forces of the two big engines out. If the 488 was cut at the back of the train, the two engines would have had trouble seeing each other in the twisty curvy line. I will comment that our train was the same 21 cars plus caboose. In the days of regular freight operations, this train would be over 50 cars with a max length closer to the 70 car mark. The photos were still great even though we were roughly half of what this train would be in the 'good ole days'.
It was cold in the open air cars and I ducked frequently in the rider box cars to cut from the wind. It was always a balance of bringing enough jackets to stay warm in the morning while on a moving train and not have too much to carry when it warmed up later in the day. We again did a few runbys at all of the population locations as we headed west including Lava Loop (where the two engines used their tender to empty the tank for winter), Sublette, Phantom Curve before rolling into Osier.
We met in the Chama parking lot at 6:00am. I was able just to walk across the street and over. We got up to Cumbres and had some time to kill but wanted to ensure we were there in plenty of time. Tom helped Richard and I do some quick astro photography that I was struggling with. I had it down with my old Nikon D7000 but hadn't mastered it yet on my Z5 camera. The bus was pick us and the others up at Chama, having the rest of the riders already boarded in Chama and off we rolled to Antonito. We arrived at 7:45am or so and the train was rolling west right on time at 8:00am.
On this trip, the 487 was again the lead road engine but this time the 488 was cut about halfway back into the train. This was exactly how the D&RGW ran these trains in order to spread the forces of the two big engines out. If the 488 was cut at the back of the train, the two engines would have had trouble seeing each other in the twisty curvy line. I will comment that our train was the same 21 cars plus caboose. In the days of regular freight operations, this train would be over 50 cars with a max length closer to the 70 car mark. The photos were still great even though we were roughly half of what this train would be in the 'good ole days'.
It was cold in the open air cars and I ducked frequently in the rider box cars to cut from the wind. It was always a balance of bringing enough jackets to stay warm in the morning while on a moving train and not have too much to carry when it warmed up later in the day. We again did a few runbys at all of the population locations as we headed west including Lava Loop (where the two engines used their tender to empty the tank for winter), Sublette, Phantom Curve before rolling into Osier.
We, again, were planned to do a quick stop in Osier to use the bathrooms and pick up our box lunches which we would enjoy on the rails as we rolled to our next runby location. As we approached Osier, we noticed smoke across the valley and quickly recognized Durango Historical Society's C-18 #315 rolling toward us. The 315 had been cold in Chama for the second half of the season, getting work done by the shop there (I believe, details are hazy). We saw her getting steamed up for testing on Saturday and it appears that the testing went well. She was now traveling over the line to Antonito where she would be put on a truck to go up to Golden, Co to visit the Colorado Railroad Museum. There she would operate with the museum's Rio Grande Southern 20 and DRGW 491. The RGS 20 was going to do some winter runs on the Durango & Silverton and the 315 was to help cover the winter trains while the 20 was traveling.
The 'handlers' on the train kept us on board so that the 315 could roll through Osier and pass us without having to wade through the crowd of railfans. So the best picture possible was a shot from the open air car.
After our short break in Osier, we rolled on to Los Pinos and proceeded to do several runbys near and then at Los Pinos which is such a great location. After multiple runbys from multiple locations in the Los Pinos area, we proceeded with a runby at Apache Road Crossing before proceeding to the summit at Cumbres.
At Cumbres, in order to save time, the lead engine, the 487, took the first part of the train before the mid train helper and added the caboose we left there yesterday. She then proceeded down grade with that section. The mid train helper, the 488, took the rest of the train behind her tender down after giving the 487 a bit of a lead. The 488 kept us back while the 487 made moves to add the caboose and leave. She then pulled up to let those with cars at the summit off.
Richard, Tom and I detrained there and jumped into Richard's car. We left in a hurry, thinking the 487 had a good jump on us. But the theme of the trains I saw during the time I was there is that they were very slow coming down from the hill. In our rush, we blew right past the Coxo crossing (which we could have got the 487 at) and setup at the 'ESS' curve. We waited roughly 30 minutes there for the 487 to arrive and the shadows started to grow. Finally the 487 appeared with its little train. It was moving slow enough to catch it again at the second road crossing (which is really close road wise) and then we dove into Dalton crossing.
We chose to wait on Dalton for the 488 and the rest of the train and found her following about 10 minutes later. At this point, we headed down the road and saw 487 crawling. I think the crew was giving a lot or respect to the steep 4% grade and the aging wooden freight cars. At this point, the three of us decided to cut and run to Chama. We knew the two trains were going to be a bit still and the light was starting to fade. The other reason was is that dining in Chama in the evening can be hard and we wanted to beat the crowd.
We got into Chama just before 6:00pm and the three of us headed straight to the Iron Rail Inn for dinner. Listing from the restaurant, we heard the first train arrive about 6:10 and the second portion with the riders about 6:20. We enjoyed our company and the food with Tom and Richard saying bye at about 7. I headed to my room in the hotel to clean up and rest a bit. At 8, I heard people talking in the restaurant and decided to come out for a drink. I ended up sitting the the group of 'handlers' on the train that were part of the Friends organization and I chatted with them until about 9:00 when the restaurant wanted to close. I had a short walk to my room and bed.
The 'handlers' on the train kept us on board so that the 315 could roll through Osier and pass us without having to wade through the crowd of railfans. So the best picture possible was a shot from the open air car.
After our short break in Osier, we rolled on to Los Pinos and proceeded to do several runbys near and then at Los Pinos which is such a great location. After multiple runbys from multiple locations in the Los Pinos area, we proceeded with a runby at Apache Road Crossing before proceeding to the summit at Cumbres.
At Cumbres, in order to save time, the lead engine, the 487, took the first part of the train before the mid train helper and added the caboose we left there yesterday. She then proceeded down grade with that section. The mid train helper, the 488, took the rest of the train behind her tender down after giving the 487 a bit of a lead. The 488 kept us back while the 487 made moves to add the caboose and leave. She then pulled up to let those with cars at the summit off.
Richard, Tom and I detrained there and jumped into Richard's car. We left in a hurry, thinking the 487 had a good jump on us. But the theme of the trains I saw during the time I was there is that they were very slow coming down from the hill. In our rush, we blew right past the Coxo crossing (which we could have got the 487 at) and setup at the 'ESS' curve. We waited roughly 30 minutes there for the 487 to arrive and the shadows started to grow. Finally the 487 appeared with its little train. It was moving slow enough to catch it again at the second road crossing (which is really close road wise) and then we dove into Dalton crossing.
We chose to wait on Dalton for the 488 and the rest of the train and found her following about 10 minutes later. At this point, we headed down the road and saw 487 crawling. I think the crew was giving a lot or respect to the steep 4% grade and the aging wooden freight cars. At this point, the three of us decided to cut and run to Chama. We knew the two trains were going to be a bit still and the light was starting to fade. The other reason was is that dining in Chama in the evening can be hard and we wanted to beat the crowd.
We got into Chama just before 6:00pm and the three of us headed straight to the Iron Rail Inn for dinner. Listing from the restaurant, we heard the first train arrive about 6:10 and the second portion with the riders about 6:20. We enjoyed our company and the food with Tom and Richard saying bye at about 7. I headed to my room in the hotel to clean up and rest a bit. At 8, I heard people talking in the restaurant and decided to come out for a drink. I ended up sitting the the group of 'handlers' on the train that were part of the Friends organization and I chatted with them until about 9:00 when the restaurant wanted to close. I had a short walk to my room and bed.
