Caterpillars Versus Aspen Fall Colors

Fall colors on Kebler Pass 2012
Photo by Aakash sahai, CCL3.0

Fall colors in Colorado are beautiful if you time it right. A golden week of Aspen color makes its way through Colorado--north to south--from early September to mid-October. If you time it right, the Rockies are alight with gold with hints of orange and red. If not, the gold is still easy to find, but not nearly as plentiful.

It's usually one or the other for my family when we go. Most years, anyway.

I've been hearing some disturbing rumors that the season will be severely affected or possibly killed outright in some regions like far southern Colorado and northern New Mexico by a rampaging herd of caterpillars. Tent worms or tent caterpillars apparently love to munch aspen leaves. As though the fires earlier this year and the perennial beetle kill in other parts of the state weren't enough, we now may have a total lack of foliage in some formerly picturesque spots.

Steam Train Videos has a shot of one of James Parfrey's latest trips shot earlier this 2013 season. It turns out the infestation was turning the tracks into a slippery ...well, if you care about insects, you probably shouldn't watch. I can't imagine what bird--except a Mudhen like 463--wouldn't mind growing fat on these things, especially after a train ...wounds so many of them. On the bright side, aspen leaves are good for salicylates, the key ingredient in aspirin, so when the train crushes one of the buggers, they might not feel pain ...at least not as much.



According to a family friend, folks are saying that the aspens can take this for a year or even two, but continued over-grazing by the Tent caterpillar could negatively affect the aspen stands in a permanent way. Let's hope they're wrong. I don't truly know how severe it is for this season or for every location, but a well-timed call to the Cumbres & Toltec or your specific railroad of choice may keep your fall trip from going bust.

For more, watch the video below. It's a bit alarmist, but like the guy says, time will tell.◊

Blessed Are the Patient

Do my eyes deceive me? Can it be? Is this really happening? Yes! Yes! YES!!!

Denver & Rio Grande Western's famed mikado, Mudhen 463, is under steam and testing! That is not a misprint. According to Nathan Holmes, webmaster at DRGW.net,

...not only does it steam, but it actually runs. They did a shakedown run with her today (4/9) from Antonito out to Lava and back. 

He linked to the Friends of the C&TS discussion board post by Rich Murray with two pictures by Craig McMullen.

Tim Tennant posted details today on the delayed, canceled, on-again, off-again-now-on-again charter that finally seems to be coming true. The release also has a picture of the engineunder steam at Lava.  The engine is sans number, but I can tell it's the real deal with a lot of shiny new parts. Make plans to visit the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad this summer to catch the oldest and smallest of the surviving steam engines of the Rio Grande!

Thanks to valued reader Rich Guggenheim for the tip.◊

Video: Triple Header On the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

I happened across this video some time ago and, unlike some web videos, this one seems to improve over time. I've watched it several times and I have to say it's one of my favorites.

Normally, I don't feature videos that have disabled embedding. I believe sharing is something that helps your public exposure if it's done with a watermark or title cards showing whose content it is. On the other hand, this video is just too good to pass up.

Former Rio Grande Mikado locomotives, numbers 489, 488, and 487, in that order, triple-head a photo freight over Cumbres Pass in the snow. The footage is HD, sharp focus and set up extremely well. Low angle passes with a wide lens and high angle shots work together like a cinematographer's dream. It should be on a DVD somewhere, but Zack Blea, God bless 'im, has put it on the web for us all to enjoy!

(Next time, Zack, please let me show the readers your awesomeness here!)◊

OPINION: Reflecting on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic's Experiment

A lot has happened this year and particularly this summer for Colorado's heritage railroads. Nowhere more than the San Luis Valley.

American Heritage Railways, the company that owns and operates the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad had it's first season operating the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. This marked the first time since the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad abandoned its San Juan Extension in 1970 that the two remnants have been operated by the same company. Since the contract was announced in October last year, AHR's management of the railroad has not been an ideal fit with it's government-owners. As a result, AHR has largely bowed out of the contract, choosing to allow one AHR management employee, Ken Matzick, to report directly to the railroad's commission. It's hoped that this will simplify the situation and save the Commission money. Whatever happens, the impact of the change is likely not going to show very clearly for the riding public, especially if the Harper's statements about the commission and the C&TS culture are accurate.

It's not surprising that a private venture would have trouble operating under a government commission and a railroad that has been dependent on public funds for nearly it's entire existence. It's a problem as old as Keynes and Marx, capitalism and socialism. Worse, there is some entrenchment within the ranks of the C&TS Railroad. This isn't said in condemnation of the railroad. You try surviving in Antonito for more than a month without some form of assistance and trust me, you'll find your trenching tools fast. Nonetheless, neither of the two issues loan themselves to capitalists who like to innovate. Something tells me that of the two railroads, Gen. William Palmer, founder of the D&RGW Railroad, would find it slightly easier to recognize the physical plant of the C&TS, and find much easier to fit himself within the operating model of the D&SNG. Could it be the irony of the high iron that in seeking to preserve the history of the Rio Grande narrow gauge, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic commission, the Friends, and the employees have actually lost something far greater?

If the C&TS commission attempts to bring back capitalism to the San Luis and Rio Chama valleys, it's going to have to sell to an enterprising young man who can grow, live, and possibly die with the narrow gauge. In valleys like these, no one is willing to risk that for an ideology, at least not so long as the government funds continue to flow. I really hope someone is willing to prove me wrong.

Railroads Celebrate A Colorado Christmas

The Polar Express arrives at Durango's 125 year old station

Colorado has many traditions and celebrations associated with Christmas. Denver's Civic Center, across the park from the state capitol, is lit each Christmas season with an impressive display that brings thousands to the city center on every night it's lit. Christmas stars light several Colorado towns like Castle Rock and Palmer Lake. As I've noted other years, Colorado also has a global role with Christmas as NORAD tracks Santa Claus while he travels around the world each Christmas Eve.

Also as with years before, I have a list of railroads and layouts across Colorado that host special Christmas events. This year I have them grouped by metro area. One final note before the listings: Reservations, where possible, are strongly encouraged as these events have a tendency to sell out at the last minute.

Rio Grande 463 Scheduled to Return In 2012

The Monte Vista Journal did an article that serves as an update on Mudhen 463, under restoration in the San Luis Valley. The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic have set March 31, 2012 as the completion date, despite the restoration requiring more work than anticipated, resulting in a $240,000 shortfall. Hopefully, next season sees the smallest and oldest of the surviving 2-8-2 Mikados back on the rails!

Mudhen 463 Frame Mated To Boiler In Mammoth Crane Event

Some great news has come out of Monte Vista this month! Denver & Rio Grande Western steam engine 463 has taken a major step in her return to steam. The frame and boiler were finally mated back together at last. Everything appears to be on schedule for the K-27 class Mudhen to return to steam at the beginning of the 2012 Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad summer season.

POTD - 135 Years of Statehood, Rail Tourism

Today's POTD honors Colorado and her 135 years of statehood. Prior to August 1, 1876, Colorado was a territory carved out of portions of Kansas Territory and Utah Territory with smaller parts of the Nebraska and New Mexico Territories. Since it was the only state admitted to the union that year, the centennial of the United States, Colorado became known as the Centennial state.

Property speculators and railroads were anxious to entice settlers and pioneering families to come west and generate revenue by living and working out there. While trappers and later miners were eager to make a fortune off the land, farmers, tradesmen and other people that make lasting communities weren't typically as anxious to risk all in a move out west. Unscrupulous promoters wrote fifictitious accounts, one even going so far as to claim that steam boats were departing daily at Denver on the South Platte River. As you can see from this photo, even with modern-day dams keeping the South Platte flowing year round, the river--if you can call it that--would not be navigable by such craft. Such fiction was unfortunately common and many would-be settlers would not trust written accounts. Therefore, it was all the more important that photographs were taken and reproduced as much as possible showing Colorado to be a land open to new settlers and the skills they had or were willing to learn. Photos that depicted the scenic wonders of the west were just as helpful in promoting the nascent tourism industry.

Railroad travel and tourism in Colorado got a healthy boost from the work of William Henry Jackson, whose photographs brought on a continuous flow of curious and moderately wealthy tourists who had never seen such drama and beauty. One such photograph is of Toltec Gorge along the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Jackson made trips up and down the line in a photographer's special train that usually included a mobile dark room for his plate glass negatives. His train is just barely visible (top right) from this point in the canyon, nearly 800 feet below the tracks.

A D&RG train steams above the floor of Toltec Gorge on the San Juan
Extension. The undated photograph is between 1878 and 1898 (maybe 1880?)
Photo: Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Such a view (from the top, anyway) is still available today on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which took the Rio Grande's property and turned it into a thriving heritage railroad.

If you are interested in the history, the Colorado Railroad Museum has a new exhibit, Trains and Tourism in Colorado. It opened this summer and has a great deal of historic artifacts. Imagine columbines, Colorado's state flower, being gathered by the armful on "Wildflower Excursions" over a century ago, where the ticket was $1.50, which would be about $34.92 today.¹

¹ - Converted per scale at MyKindred.com

Steam-to-steam Transfers On Wednesdays Until August 17th

Here's a video from 2008 when the steam-to-steam transfer at Antonito was quietly tried out using a caboose to take riders into Alamosa.

Hear That Whistle Blow

One of the more interesting groups of railfans are the ones that are into locomotive whistles and horns, the signaling devices used by engineers to communicate and warn the world outside his cab of what he's doing. An entire industry has grown around a collection of railfans who collect and, at times, sound off their affection for trains.

Cumbres & Toltec Serving Up A Hot Fourth of July

If you have not made any solid plans for next weekend's Fourth of July festivities, consider heading down to the Cumbres & Toltec for a weekend that promises to be unforgettable. They have a full plate of Independence Day activities. A photo from last year's celebration found itself on the back inside cover of Trains Magazine. If you need any more encouragement to go, read on!

Highball! First Run of Passengers Over Lobato Trestle From Chama To Osier

It is all over the narrow gauge world out there this morning that Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is finally back in service! While there were photos and videos of the trestle with the C&TS diesel switcher and a MOW car with ballast for the abutments, there was no official word when the trestle will be ready for daily service with the two regular trains ...until suddenly yesterday morning when a train loaded up and quietly left Chama, full of passengers.

Durango Looks Great This Summer

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, headquartered in Durango, Colorado, is offering a rare deal for vacationers this summer and has several events planned. Durango, a town that's never really shed it's wild west image, is an amazing place to fall in love with narrow gauge, steam railroading. It's worth the travel time to get there, and if you're really brave, you'll bring your camera but leave your laptop and smartphone charging at home. Unplugging with only a hotel phone for emergencies may be the 2011 way of "roughing it," for some folks. I know that for me, doing so would certainly add to the old west, frontier feel!

Lobato Trestle Nearly Complete - Planned Opening Prior To Season Start

Important: See update at end of post

Chama is back!

The Lobato trestle is nearly completed and is projected to open mid-week, only days before opening weekend. Once in place, trains will once again roll from Antonito to Chama and back again, without having to halt progress at Cumbres Pass.

Friends Bring $121K Check For Lobato Trestle

The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a volunteer support organization that works to preserve the rolling stock and most of the equipment of the Cumbres & Toltec. Last year on June 24th, the trestle at Lobato burned in a spectacular nighttime blaze. No one was injured, and the investigators have ruled out arson. Even while the embers were cooling , the Friends have taken on the work of soliciting donations for the rebuild, hopefully in time to restore service from Chama this coming season, which starts May 28th.

New Mexico Antes Up For Lobato Repairs, Could Complete By Opening Day 2011

The Lobato Trestle on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which burned in a fire in late June, could possibly be back in service by next season's opening day! Long time New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson directed the state's Department of Transportation to direct $1.2 Million in federal funds toward the trestle reconstruction.

Lobato Trestle Op-Ed in ABQ Journal

Bill Hume, board member of the C&TS Railroad Management Company wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Albuquerque Journal regarding the Lobato Trestle rebuild project. In it, he covers the history of the actions taken since the fire in June.  Of note:

Firemen School on the C&TS

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad continues their school for different roles on steam operated freight trains. This week, they've got 6 firemen students training. The video is from Monday where they spent half the day in the classroom and half the day making up the train they planned to use on Tuesday.

Fall Colors Approaching Their Peak In Southern Colorado

It's September, and that means the fall aspen colors are making their annual appearance in the high country. Usually they are in evidence the first week after Labor Day in the north of the state to as late as the first or second week of October in the far south near New Mexico. I say usually because there is no sure fire way to predict how the aspens will change. Sometimes they peak in color quickly, in what seems like a few days. Other times, the peak is more than a week in some areas. By peak, I mean that the traces of green in the leaves are almost totally gone but all or nearly all of the leaves are still on the trees. Some years, there isn't a peak, and that's depressing!

New Cumbres TV Spot Released to Air

The Cumbres & Toltec has a new TV spot that just made it on their YouTube channel.   Docent and long-time C&TS supporter, Rich Muth introduces himeself and invites everyone out for a trip. Did he say something about discounted rates?




Visit www.cumbrestoltec.com for information and tickets.