A gusty wind in the valley of the Los Pinos
The dark exhaust plume from a Denver & Rio Grande Western freight drifts almost horizontally in a gusty west wind as the train works its way north along the 5-mile hairpin-shaped section of track in the Los Pinos River Valley. Although the 64-mile line between Antonito, CO and Chama, NM takes a pretty long, circuitous route, following the contours of the hills, this particular stretch of the line is perhaps the most extreme detour that the track takes, in order to keep the grades manageable. It's also one of the more spectacular landscapes in which to photograph the trains.
This frame was captured during an October 2024 photo shoot on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which on this day, featured the former D&RGW K-36 Locomotive #489. The train is pictured at about Milepost 324.4, just a short distance south of the Los Pinos River Trestle.
A gusty wind in the valley of the Los Pinos
The dark exhaust plume from a Denver & Rio Grande Western freight drifts almost horizontally in a gusty west wind as the train works its way north along the 5-mile hairpin-shaped section of track in the Los Pinos River Valley. Although the 64-mile line between Antonito, CO and Chama, NM takes a pretty long, circuitous route, following the contours of the hills, this particular stretch of the line is perhaps the most extreme detour that the track takes, in order to keep the grades manageable. It's also one of the more spectacular landscapes in which to photograph the trains.
This frame was captured during an October 2024 photo shoot on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which on this day, featured the former D&RGW K-36 Locomotive #489. The train is pictured at about Milepost 324.4, just a short distance south of the Los Pinos River Trestle.