Colorado or bust 2016
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 6:47 am
I posted this on the Seriously Series forum so apologies if you've already seen this.
July seemed like a good month to head east to the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado, taking my usual drive out along Route 66. I try and stay away from freeways as although the Dormobile can cruise at 60-65mph, we still get passed by everything which gets tedious after a while.
This seems to be the right road!
I usually stop along the way in Amboy, once a thriving motel/service station but now pretty much a ghost town.
The Cool Springs stop is a welcome sight after Oatman and the switchback drive down Sitgreaves Pass.
Then there’s Seligman, bypassed by the Interstate freeway, it reinvented itself as a kitschy reminder of the ‘50’s.
I stayed the night in Williams, Arizona. North of Williams is the Grand Canyon. Worth a visit. This was a long day – 420 miles from Williams to Cortez.
Turning east again, the drive takes us past Monument Valley.
Cortez to Chama, New Mexico is a mere 200 miles so it was an easy drive on the 4th day after leaving Los Angeles. Chama is the western terminus of the 3ft gauge Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, once part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western empire and now owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico and which now runs tourist trains during the summer months.
K37 class #492 patiently awaits its turn for restoration.
I’ve signed up for the fireman and engineer’s school. It is a 4 day class and having done the fireman’s class last year, this year I was doing the engineer’s class. The first day is classroom and the rule book followed by light engine moves to the yard limit and back. Day 2 is a trip to Cumbres Pass and back, twice, with a freight train up the 4% (1 in 25) ruling gradient. There’s 6 fireman and 3 engineers in the class so plenty of opportunity to drive.
Here, the school freight waits for the westbound daily passenger train to pass.
Day 3 is an all-day trip to Antonito, 64 miles from Chama. The freight is crossing Cascade Trestle.
Day 4, we bring the train back again with a couple of extra cars that have been repaired. It was an early morning start!
Rock tunnel, by Toltec Gorge. Stunning scenery!
After the class, I had a couple of days off before moving to Antonito to work at the Carriage Restoration Facility (CRF) belonging to the Friends of the Railroad, so time for some sightseeing and train watching. The limit for the 4% climb up to Cumbres Pass is 8 cars for a K36 loco, so extra cars mean a pilot engine which is cut off at Cumbres.
The steep grade is evident here as the train tops Cumbres Pass.
I spent a couple of weeks in Antonito at the CRF, working on a boxcar that has been converted to a concession car that is used on photo freight charters.
It needed a full overhaul and interior repaint. But eventually, it was time to head home, retracing my steps west. Staying the night in Cortez again, I detoured north to Hovenweep to see the Peubloan ruins. Built around the 12th century, the buildings show considerable sophistication in design and construction.
Further west, I did take time off to do the loop through the Valley of the Gods.
I also drove up Moki’s Dugway, a very steep and quite terrifying drive up a cliff. No pictures as I was too scared to stop! See here for a description:
http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-ame ... y-usa.html
I didn’t drive down again, not wanting to tempt fate and instead took the long way back. I stayed the night at Goulding’s Lodge in Monument Valley, once frequented by John Ford and John Wayne in their heyday.
Crossing the Mojave Desert after spending the night in Needles, I was pleasantly surprised to find the temperature was only 32degsC. Finally, after four and a half weeks on the road and some 2,800 miles, I made it back home in one piece.
July seemed like a good month to head east to the mountains of New Mexico and Colorado, taking my usual drive out along Route 66. I try and stay away from freeways as although the Dormobile can cruise at 60-65mph, we still get passed by everything which gets tedious after a while.
This seems to be the right road!
I usually stop along the way in Amboy, once a thriving motel/service station but now pretty much a ghost town.
The Cool Springs stop is a welcome sight after Oatman and the switchback drive down Sitgreaves Pass.
Then there’s Seligman, bypassed by the Interstate freeway, it reinvented itself as a kitschy reminder of the ‘50’s.
I stayed the night in Williams, Arizona. North of Williams is the Grand Canyon. Worth a visit. This was a long day – 420 miles from Williams to Cortez.
Turning east again, the drive takes us past Monument Valley.
Cortez to Chama, New Mexico is a mere 200 miles so it was an easy drive on the 4th day after leaving Los Angeles. Chama is the western terminus of the 3ft gauge Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, once part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western empire and now owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico and which now runs tourist trains during the summer months.
K37 class #492 patiently awaits its turn for restoration.
I’ve signed up for the fireman and engineer’s school. It is a 4 day class and having done the fireman’s class last year, this year I was doing the engineer’s class. The first day is classroom and the rule book followed by light engine moves to the yard limit and back. Day 2 is a trip to Cumbres Pass and back, twice, with a freight train up the 4% (1 in 25) ruling gradient. There’s 6 fireman and 3 engineers in the class so plenty of opportunity to drive.
Here, the school freight waits for the westbound daily passenger train to pass.
Day 3 is an all-day trip to Antonito, 64 miles from Chama. The freight is crossing Cascade Trestle.
Day 4, we bring the train back again with a couple of extra cars that have been repaired. It was an early morning start!
Rock tunnel, by Toltec Gorge. Stunning scenery!
After the class, I had a couple of days off before moving to Antonito to work at the Carriage Restoration Facility (CRF) belonging to the Friends of the Railroad, so time for some sightseeing and train watching. The limit for the 4% climb up to Cumbres Pass is 8 cars for a K36 loco, so extra cars mean a pilot engine which is cut off at Cumbres.
The steep grade is evident here as the train tops Cumbres Pass.
I spent a couple of weeks in Antonito at the CRF, working on a boxcar that has been converted to a concession car that is used on photo freight charters.
It needed a full overhaul and interior repaint. But eventually, it was time to head home, retracing my steps west. Staying the night in Cortez again, I detoured north to Hovenweep to see the Peubloan ruins. Built around the 12th century, the buildings show considerable sophistication in design and construction.
Further west, I did take time off to do the loop through the Valley of the Gods.
I also drove up Moki’s Dugway, a very steep and quite terrifying drive up a cliff. No pictures as I was too scared to stop! See here for a description:
http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-ame ... y-usa.html
I didn’t drive down again, not wanting to tempt fate and instead took the long way back. I stayed the night at Goulding’s Lodge in Monument Valley, once frequented by John Ford and John Wayne in their heyday.
Crossing the Mojave Desert after spending the night in Needles, I was pleasantly surprised to find the temperature was only 32degsC. Finally, after four and a half weeks on the road and some 2,800 miles, I made it back home in one piece.