Opening Day on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad: 2025!

Описание: The opening of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is always a welcome event. It means winter is over and the summer months are upon us. The railroad normally opens on Memorial Day Weekend, but this year it was delayed one week; a business decision according to Ed Beaudette, General Manager of the railroad.
I always like to check out the yard the day before. This year was even more important to me because the Friends webcams have been down for months so there is no way to get that Chama fix that so many of us look forward to.
I was surprised that the only activity I saw were a couple guys straightening parking bumpers in the parking lot and after wandering around I was even more surprised to see 488 in the engine house without its tender, 489 and 463 behind the engine house without their drivers, and 492 still waiting ‘for warmer weather’ before being reborn in a shop in Monte Vista.
Off in the distance I heard the sound of a steam engine’s whistle which was encouraging. 484 was running back and forth between the north part of the yard and the first crossing. The only K-36 unaccounted for was 487 which made me hopeful that its piston and cylinder repair had been made and was ready to take the Antonito train out in the morning. I knew that the only other operable steam locomotive was 168, a small T-12 that wouldn’t be big enough for a full consist. 315 was still out of service and hiding in the roundhouse.
Of course there was the newly acquired 114, a diesel locomotive purchased from the White Pass & Yukon, but the promise was that it would only be used for MOW work to preserve the time on the steam boilers.
One of the best times to be in the Chama yard is a couple hours before departure. The steam locomotive assigned to pull the train to Cumbres Pass pulls forward from the engine house where it has been simmering all night. First stop is the ash pit where the fire box is cleaned out. This was the first time I managed to get there early enough to watch that.
Next stop is the water tank where the tender is topped off and then the coaling track where a front end loader fills the tender with coal. Then the locomotive, 484 in this case is back down to the cars where it is coupled to its train.
This time of the day always attracts the more serious photographers and it’s wonderful to see old friends and miss the ones that aren’t around anymore. We catch up on the latest information including the cancellation of the Antonito train. No locomotives available!
Opening day means opening ceremonies, including the raising of the flags by the local Boy Scout troop and speakers being introduced by Ed Beaudette.
Finally, it was time for Engineer Garcia and Fireman Haas to take the train out of the yard and head east.

https://friendsofcumbrestoltec.org/
https://cumbrestoltec.com/