Day 27 of our 30-day Southwest Grand Circle Caravan – Activites in Chama New Mexico

Our main reason for stopping in Chama was to ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Since we lost out on the Durango Silverton train ride, we were all anxious for this one! Our first afternoon, Wednesday August 10th, in Chama the owner of the RV park made us all a hamburger lunch, with all the trimmings! It was a welcome surprise and very delicious! Some of us did a bit of exploring, not that there is much to see in Chama. There were a few nice gift shops.

Here is a bit of history on the railroad. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was originally constructed in 1880 as part of the Rio Grande’s San Juan Extension, which served the silver mining district of the San Juan mountains. Like all of the Rio Grande at the time, it was built to a gauge of 3 feet between the rails, also called a narrow guage. The inability to interchange cars with other railroads led the Rio Grande to begin converting its tracks to standard gauge in 1890.

However, with the repeal of the Sherman Act in 1893 and its devastating effect on the silver mining industry, traffic over the San Juan Extension failed to warrant the conversion.  Over the next few decades it became an isolated relic, receiving its last major upgrades in equipment and infrastructure in the 1920s. A post-World War II natural gas boom, in the Four Corners area, brought a brief period of prosperity to the line. But operations dwindled by the 1960s.  Finally, in 1969 the Interstate Commerce Commission granted the Rio Grande’s request to abandon its remaining narrow gauge main line tracks, thereby ending the last use of steam locomotives in general freight service in the United States.

Most of the abandoned track was dismantled soon after the Interstate Commerce Commission’s decision, but through the combined efforts of an energetic and resourceful group of railway preservationists and local civic interests, the most scenic portion of the line was saved.  In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly purchased the track and line-side structures from Antonito to Chama, nine steam locomotives, over 130 freight and work cars, and the Chama yard and maintenance facility, for just shy of $550,000. The C&TS railway began carrying tourists the next year.

Today the railroad is operated for the states by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission, an interstate agency authorized by an act of Congress in 1974. Care of the historic assets, and interpretation of the railroad is entrusted to the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a non-profit, member-based organization whose mission is to preserve and interpret the railroad as a living history museum for the benefit of the public, and for the people of Colorado and New Mexico, who own it. It is one of our country's best preserved railroad museums, designated as both a National and State Registered Historic Site and National Civil Engineering Landmark.

There are many different ways to ride the train. There are full day, half day, sunset rides, and galloping goose rides. You can take a bus up and ride back down to Chama from Antonio or vice versa, just to name a few.

We took a bus to Antonio and boarded the train there. We toured the station and the rail yard, before we boarded. before the railroad, an old Spanish Trail passed through Antonio.

Our Yankee RV Tour group took up almost a complete coach car. The coach car offered us semi-padded bench seating with two people per bench. I called them semi-padded, because remember these cars are from the 1930 - 1960's ... many people have sat in these seats!

This car style had large windows that we could open. The car had some nice vintage touches, like the overhead baggage shelf. Notice the letters of the railroad on the edges of the shelf.

The 64-miles of track, takes us over and through many twists and turns. Our first over, was Hangman's or Ferguson's Trestle. It is named for Ferguson, who was a very bad man in Antonio. Convicted for an unknown crime, he was hanged from this bridge by a local posse.

We passed through Lava Loop. This loop is used for turning snowplows in the winter. At Lava Loop, there is Lava Tank sitting on a high mesa. It was once used to hold water for the engines. Water for this tank, was pumped from the river below. 

In the distance, you can see Mt San Antonio from here. We twisted and turned our way through Whiplash Curve. Why would the engineers make the track curve back and forth? Because steel wheels on a steel rail slip on steep hills, the track must loop back on itself to gain altitude.

We passed by Big Horn Wye (a triangle of railroad track, used for turning locomotives) and Big Horn Peak. Bighorn Peak is a 9,449 foot mountain peak near Espanola, New Mexico. Did I mention that the train crosses between New Mexico and Colorado eleven times?

We stopped at the Sublette station, to take on more water. I did mention, that this is a steam engine, right? When the train was very active, Sublette was home for the section gangs, the men who maintained the right-of-way ties, ballast and rails. During early railroad operations, the telegraph and trains were the only communication for the folks living here. We passed through Mud Tunnel. Unlike a rock tunnel, the Mud Tunnel requires wooden supports over its entire 342 foot length.

Good thing it was daylight when we hit the Phantom Curve. It is called this, because of the ghostly shapes and shadows seen in the locomotive headlight at night. The second tunnel is Rock Tunnel. It was bored out through 360 feet of solid rock. Right after Rock Tunnel, you are 600 feet above the Rio de Los Pinos and 800 feet from the opposite rim of the Toltec Gorge. 

Along this same section of tracks, is a monument erected by railroad ticket agents dedicated to the memory of President James A. Garfield after his assassination in 1881. Incised letters on this shrine to the assassinated president read: ‘In memoriam James Abram Garfield President of the United States died September 19, 1881. Mourned by all the people. Erected by members of the National Association of General Passenger and Ticket Agents, who held memorial burial services on this spot September 26, 1881.’ 

Osier was another station along the rail route. Before the railroad arrived in 1880, Osier (elevation 9,637 ft) was a toll station on the road from Conejos, New Mexico to Chama. It had a section house, bunker houses, a coaling platform, a water tower, a turntable, and railroad sidings. During its peak, there were several hundred residences. Some of these items are still on display but we didn’t walk around to view them. 

Today, Osier is a ghost town. Its claim to fame is a stopping place for lunch. Out of nowhere, a large, wooden, two-story building stands alone in this beautiful wilderness. Satisfied with an abundant amount of food, we boarded the train back to Chama. Since we all love food, I should tell you we had a complete turkey or meatloaf dinner, including a soup and salad bar!

We went over the Cascade Trestle, which is the highest bridge on the 64-miles of track. It is 137 feet above the Cascade Creek.

The most popular rumor of how Tanglefoot Curve got its name, is a trainman tangled his foot in a briar and slid down the bank almost into the path of his own train. At this location, railroad engineers had to lay the track in wide loops to gain 40 feet in elevation. Eastbound train crews would jump off the slow moving train on the upper track, walk down to the lower track to inspect the trains for "hot spots" and re-board the caboose.

Cumbres is the highest point on the railroad. At 10,015 feet above sea level, fierce winter storms leave snow drifts 20 feet or more. Railroad families used to live her through the winter, keeping plenty of food on hand for times when the trains were stopped by snow.

One of the most famous places in American railroading, is Windy Point. The rails here are laid on a rock shelf, carved out of the face of the cliff. 

From Cumbres, the railroad tracks descend around Windy Point and down the 4% grade into the Rio Chama valley. They release cold water to equalize the level of water on this steep grade.

The release of this water created a rainbow for us to enjoy near the end of our trip. The last bridge you cross on the ride to Chama is the Lobato Trestle. It is the second highest bridge on the line at 100 feet above Wolf Creek. Just before Chama, you enter "the Narrows" a portion of the track where the brush is thick and close to the track. The Chama Station is the end of the line for this train ride!

See you all again, on the road to Santa Fe!