Denver & Rio Grande Engine 168 Fired and Steaming Up For a Big 2020 Celebration

For the first time since most of us were born, narrow gauge Denver & Rio Grande steam engine 168 turned her wheels under steam. Trains Magazine reports,

On Friday night, 3-foot gauge Denver & Rio Grande 4-6-0 No. 168 ran for the first time in 70 years, following an extensive restoration at the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. Friday’s test run consisted of a brief trip around the Antonito yard. C&TS Assistant General Manager Stathi Pappas says the 136-year-old Baldwin locomotive was being fired up again on Monday for another test. 

“The test went great,” Pappas says of the locomotive’s first run since 1938.

Engine 168 in Black Canyon
 of the Gunnison in 1904

The engine will be matched with purpose-built replica passenger cars to roll behind her in what will likely be a very memorable 50 year-anniversary celebration of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. In 1970, the states of Colorado and New Mexico teamed together to purchase the narrow gauge segment of the San Juan Extension that runs between Antonito Colorado and Chama New Mexico when it appeared certain that the Denver & Rio Grande Western railroad was abandoning the line. Since then, a six-member commission led by both states has supervised the investment in the C&TS, with an emphasis in history and preservation, something with which the restoration of engine 168 falls right in line. Having an active volunteer organization dedicated to assisting that mission with hands and feet, hearts and minds doesn't hurt, either.

Engine 168 is an important historic artifact to Colorado and to railroading. While it's a steam engine, something that last roamed the rails en masse 70 years ago, it's also narrow gauge, designed to run on rails 3 feet apart, rather than the standard 4 feet 8½ inches apart. There are dozens of these narrow gauge engines in the state of Colorado already, and they're all worthy of preservation. What makes 168 so unique is that it is one of two surviving class T-12 locomotives built in 1883 for General William Palmer's original vision of the D&RG connecting Denver with El Paso and Mexico City.

168 Awaiting President Taft in Montrose, 1909

The Rio Grande never reached further south than Santa Fe, but the engine would go on to haul passengers throughout the state and beyond. One of its more important roles was to carry then-President William Taft to the opening of the Gunnison Tunnel, a record-length water supply tunnel that turned the land around Montrose into a veritable garden beginning in 1909.

As railroads around the state prepare to rest or at least scale back activities for the winter, it's worth contemplating how many engines are now in steam that were dry and static several years ago. Certainly, such a recounting is worth its own post! ⚒

Fall Colors Return to the Rails of Colorado

Kids are back in school. Football is rolling into stadiums. The summer heat is fading into a warm autumn. Pretty soon, we will see the first hints of fall colors in the only state with color in its name: Colorado.

As a photographer, I love and hate driving a car in the mountains. It's s beautiful and challenging and yet, there's no way for me to actually enjoy the beautiful vistas and dramatic, vibrant aspens. Taking a train is the best solution to let everyone enjoy the views while still keeping the parade of Rocky Mountain gold moving. If you haven't booked tickets for a train ride through the fall colors, you still have a chance. Here are a few options.

Georgetown Loop Railroad 

Farthest north in our list and therefore first to turn that glorious gold, the far-famed Loop is a fine addition to anyone's trip up Clear Creek. The aspens around Georgetown and Silver Plume are legendary, especially up the former grade of the Argentine Central. The only downside: the equally legendary traffic on I-70. Better on a weekday, ideally a Tuesday or Wednesday

Leadville Colorado & Southern

If steam is not as big a deal for you, the LC&S has an opportunity for a trip to near-timberline. While aspens are not nearly as numerous, the opportunity for closeups and wildlife are increasing. The trip up the nice side of Fremont Pass is an enjoyable one. Were it able to go all the way to the summit, it would certainly rank among the best.

Rio Grande Scenic Railroad

Steam and diesel both make the trek over La Veta Pass and aspen and buckbrush are available. Most of the climb is isolated from any road, allowing for a sense of true exploration and yet the standard gauge rails allow for full-size accommodations. Although most seats are under or behind glass, an open air car usually allows for great photo opportunities. A recent wildfire damaged the facilities at the summit of the pass, so what is there is brand new!

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Photo: Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

There is one narrow gauge railroad route that takes riders further and higher than the others: The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. Starting in Antonito, Colorado or Chama, New Mexico, the train climbs over Cumbres Pass from both directions daily, passing through stands of aspen on both sides of the state border it hopscotches, scraping every contour for every bit of grade needed to summit the pass. Several sections are rail isolated and the coal fired steam is every bit the railroad experience you hope for and a fall color paradise late in the season! There are plenty of reasons USA Today readers voted it the best scenic ride in the country!

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

There is only one line that has never stopped hauling passengers over its narrow gauge rails. Since 1882, the Denver & Rio Grande Western and now the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroads have taken passengers up the Rio de las Animas between the former milling town of Durango and the remote mining town of Silverton, Colorado. The deep chasms of the San Juan mountains still turn gold with aspens as if to match the Grande gold of the cars of the splendid little train. Stuffy coaches, open air gondolas or even the Silver Vista glass dome car still ply their trade and regularly rock over the rails as ever they did.

Honorable Mention: California Zephyr 
It may cut through the most amazing scenery on the entire Amtrak system, and aspens may run riot through every canyon, but until you can (legally) pry your Superliner window open for an unfiltered photo or plant a seat in the vestibule, the CalZ is not your ideal way to see the colors.⚒

Billy Westall of the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad

A favorite story of mine, especially when it comes to narrow gauge lore, is that of Billy Westall. The Denver, South Park & Pacific, one of Colorado's "other" narrow gauge railroads, got rolled up in the consolidation of a number of railroads that became the Colorado & Southern.

The Columbine, Colorado's State Flower

It was around the time of this consolidation on Sunday, August 28th, 1898, that William G. "Billy" Westall was working for the railroad as an engineer, pulling a train of seven passenger cars with around 450 souls aboard. The passengers were participating in a regional phenomenon where, to beat the summer heat that regularly soars above 90°F in and around Denver, those with the means would take an excursion train to the high country. There the relatively clean alpine air, streams of cold, clear water that only hours before had been locked within snowbanks, and wildflowers like the Columbine and fauna in abundance would work their magic on the denizens of arid, dusty, and crowded Denver. Returning on a summer afternoon, it would have been perfect if not for one simple but intractable problem. As editor Ed Haley writes in M.C. Poor's Denver South Park & Pacific,

Just as the engine rounded a blind left curve near Dome Rock, engineer Westall caught sight of a large pile of sand and gravel on the track directly ahead, which had been washed down the mountain side by a recent heavy rain. He could have easily "joined the birds" and jumped in the clear, but chose, instead, to stick to his engine and try his best to stop the train with its human cargo. His fireman, Joseph Nichols, also stayed with the engine but was thrown into the clear as the engine turned over and [thus] escaped injury. Westall was successful in saving the lives of all his passengers at the expense of his own. His body was pinned to the ground by the handhold on the right side of the tender. He lived 12 hours, dying in the arms of his fireman. Westall's last words were: 'Tell my wife I died thinking of her'.

The Westall monument
at rededication

Billy Westall and Joseph Nichols are heroes for refusing to leave their positions and giving every last ounce of effort to preserve the lives for which they were responsible. His co-workers and friends were deeply moved by Westall's sacrifice and through their union, the American Order of United Workmen, they placed a large granite memorial near the site of the wreck a year later. Three separate trains were necessary to carry the passengers to the dedication of that monument. The monument sat for over a century before being adopted by a class of middle school students. They rehabilitated the monument and placed a placard detailing Westall's story for the public.

Westall was buried in Denver's Riverside Cemetery, known as the "Pioneer's cemetery." It is connected to the other monument by the Platte River, which runs along its northwest side. On the other side, it's bound by the active tracks of BNSF, the successor to the C&S and the DSP&P.⚒