Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad: Storming Up Cumbres Pass

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is one of America's finest tourist railroads. The 64-mile route preserves part of the old Denver & Rio Grande Western 4th Division, boasting the title of the highest and longest narrow gauge railroad in the United States. In July 2022, we traveled out West to document the railroad's daily operations between Chama, NM and Los Piños CO. Each day, Cumbres & Toltec 484 tackled the grueling 4% grade out of Chama, creating deafening stack talk as she snakes her way through the valley to Cumbres Pass and beyond.

The roots of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad can be traced back to the Denver & Rio Grande, with the construction of the San Juan Extension in 1880. Passenger and mail service, logging, mining, and the discovery natural gas caused the railroad to boom from its creation all the way into the 1960s. In 1968, the D&RGW filed for abandonment, but shortly thereafter, the states of Colorado and New Mexico stepped in to preserve 64 miles of the 4th Division between Chama and Antonito. To this day, the tourist attraction is the best preserved portion of the D&RGW narrow gauge with all original structures and the largest collection of narrow gauge rolling stock and locomotives.

The motive power in this video is Cumbres & Toltec 484, a 2-8-2 K-36 class Mikado built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1925. 484 was delivered to the C&TS in 1970 and returned to excursion service in 1983.

Ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad: https://cumbrestoltec.com

Locations:
0:00 Chama, NM
4:09 Jukes Tree
4:59 First Grade Crossing
5:47 Milepost 342
6:19 Milepost 341
6:51 Exiting the Narrows
8:56 Lobato
9:48 Milepost 339
10:28 Dalton
12:00 Second Grade Crossing
14:25 Stateline Curve
15:57 Cresco, CO
16:54 Milepost 334
17:53 Coxo
19:31 Windy Point
20:30 Cumbres Pass, CO
21:57 Los Piños
22:43 Apache Crossing
23:31 Los Piños
26:04 Apache Crossing
26:54 Milepost 329
27:29 Tanglefoot Curve
29:39 Cumbres Pass, CO
31:33 Coxo
32:02 Perry's Pond
32:51 Cresco
33:33 The "S" Curve
34:35 Second Grade Crossing
34:59 Dalton
35:45 Lobato
36:54 Lake Lobato
37:49 Along Highway 17
38:49 Rio Chama Bridge
39:45 Chama, NM

Filmed on July 29th, 30th, and 31st, 2022.
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