It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is of locomotive 463 heading back into Antonito Colorado on August 1 after it's double header with 168 for the Centennial Limited event. It was about an hour or more late getting back and found out later from someone riding that they had lost and had to recover pressure at one point. There was a storm in the vicinity so it made for a rather dramatic image i thought.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! The Cumbres & Toltec Railway was running a Centennial Limited special to celebrate Colorado's 150th birthday and the nation's 250th. They ran a special double header train on August 1. I was out there to capture it. This image was taken in the railroad town of Sublette, New Mexico where trains stop to take on water when they are heading out of Antonito ( they sop here on the way from Chama too but don't take on water as it is heading downhill all the way and they have enough. Locomotives 168 and 463 were being watered up to head to Osier Station for lunch and 168 would head back on it's own as they do not double head down grade due to uneven wear because of the weight of the train on the fairly steep grades.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! I went to Colorado to see the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy Centennial Limited special train event celebrating Colorado's 150 birthday and America 250. They were going to run Locomotive 168, an 1883 restored engine and also double head with 463 which is an older locomotive as well and not run very often. I took this image on the day they were getting ready to double head. 168 is in the front with 463 behind.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is another from my trip to the Cumbres & Toltec last summer. I quick took this picture when we were in Antonito, Colorado, the final stop on our trip. I was going to get on the bus for the trip back to Chama, New Mexico. The train ride and lunch stop takes about 6 hours and the bus ride back is only about 40 minutes. The train ride is much more fun and scenic.
I felt like revisiting some summery scenery today. Looking forward to it being warm all the time again. This is from my trip on the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy. We were coming up from Chama New Mexico towards Osier Station in Colorado to have lunch. This is one of the lovely views of southern Colorado you experience from the train.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog and the first one of 2026! I always have to start the year off with my favorite railroad, the Cumbres & Toltec which I got to ride on again last summer. I took this image at Windy Point, the highest point on the railroad. This was the day after our ride while I was chasing the train for photos. They stop here on the way up from Chama to rest a bit and usually fill with water as the train and crew have been working hard up in elevation most of the way. During this time they were having to use a water tower a bit further on as the stand pipe here was not functioning.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Finishing out the last one of the year with my favorite railroad. This is an image of our train as we were ending our ride in late June. Our train is rounding the parking lot to head into the station area in Antonito Colorado so we could get off and get on the bus to take us back to Chama New Mexico. We had a great trip back on the bus this time as we ended up sitting near the fireman for the trip and he chatted with us. I was not wanting to bother him, thinking he would be tired but he initiated a lot of the conversation so it was very nice and interesting.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image goes back once again to the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy and my ride in late June. I captured this image on one of the 14 times the train crosses the New Mexico and Colorado border.
Today's image goes back to this summer and my ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Railway. I was able to see a lot of wildlife on this trip and this was one of the highlights. I was able to see and photograph this Pronghorn family that was running along near the train. I often see Pronghorn on my trips to Colorado but don't often get chances to photograph them and to be able to see a whole family on this trip was very cool. Pronghorn are the fastest land mammal in the Americas. They are often called antelope but they are not, they are their own species and are most closely related to giraffes. Both males and females will have horns that they shed and regrow annually.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image goes back to my ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy this past summer. I took this image of our locomotive while we were stopped at Osier for lunch. I thought the image worked well with a vintage look. Lunch on the trip is now a buffet and it was delicious!
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is from my visit to the Cumbres & Toltec this summer. I felt like presenting it in an old timey feel because it is a great railroad to experience what riding behind a steam train back in the day would be like. It's quite an enjoyable ride and I highly recommend it. You even get lunch in the middle. 😁
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image goes back to my favorite railroad, the Cumbres & Toltec. I captured it here as it headed out of Chama New Mexico on it's way to Antonito Colorado. It's a wonderful train ride and I highly recommend it.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is from my ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Railway this past summer. This is just as it was starting to cross Lobato Trestle. This image is particularly steamy because the locomotive was "popping off" at the time, the white plume of steam. Popping off occurs when the boiler pressure goes higher than where the safety valve is set for. It relieves pressure in the boiler and keeps it at a safe operating level. Safety valves are set lower than the actual pressure a boiler can operate at for safety concerns as well.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Todays image goes back to my trip to the Cumbres & Toltec Railway. This is a very steamy image, fitting for today, of our locomotive moving by the historic Coaling Tower in the yard at Chama New Mexico. It was preparing to hook up to our train and take us to Antonito Colorado.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Once again we are on my ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy in late June. This image shows a good example of the types of landscapes the train travels through. It is a combination of scrub vegetation and mountains which provides some lovely views and variety. It's a great ride that I highly recommend.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is a companion to Thursday's. As we rounded a curve on the Cumbres & Toltec Railway ride in the scrub area of Colorado near Antonito, the engineer was blowing the whistle quite a lot. You can see the steam coming from it in the photo. The cause was this Elk that was standing on or right near the tracks and I was able to get a photo of the action. The white object to the right is a mile marker and we were at mile 291 when this occurred. The train does not go that far, that is from original Rio Grande designations. I am not sure where the starting point is. Very early in the ride a similar thing happened with cows but I did not get a photo. 😊
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! We're still visiting my trip to the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad in late June. This is an image of the train as it is leaving Cumbres Pass, the highest point on the railroad and is heading for the lunch stop at Osier.
I have a short video of the train on it's way to Cumbres Pass HERE.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is one I took while on the Cumbres & Toltec train ride a couple weeks ago. This is the train from the Antonito Colorado side stopped at Osier Station where we had lunch. In about the middle of the train ride, you get to stop at Osier Station and have, what is now, a buffet lunch which is actually very good. There is some time then to walk around and take photographs which is nice.
I have a very short video HERE of the train getting ready to load passengers in Chama Yard. It's very steamy. 😁
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! 2 weeks ago already I was riding on the Cumbres & Toltec Railway in New Mexico and Colorado. It was a fantastic ride as always. The image for today is as our locomotive is getting ready to hook up to the train to take us out for our trip. I liked the shadow cast on the ground. The sun angle in the morning makes photography challenging. 😂
I have a video on YouTube HERE of it moving around and hooking up.
I was able to see lots of different wildlife and birds while in Colorado and New Mexico. While I was riding the Cumbres & Toltec train I was able to see several Pronghorn Antelope and I was able to get some fairly good shots of them. I was helped in this photo when it stopped and basically posed for me. 😁
