Evening departure at Cumbres Pass (MP 330.80)
The last rays of sun poke through the clouds as a Denver & Rio Grande Western Freight eases out of Cumbres Station on the westbound run to Chama, and later, Durango. Locomotive 485 has a fresh crew on board and a tender full of water but toughest part of the next hour won't involve a lot of shoveling or running with the injectors wide open. It will be managing the brakes. The next 12 miles are pretty much a roller coaster ride on rails down a 4% grade.
This image was captured on a September 2011 Lerro Photography Charter which featured DRGW K-36 Locomotive #489 lettered as her long-lost sister #485, which was scrapped in the 1950s after a turntable accident.
Evening departure at Cumbres Pass (MP 330.80)
The last rays of sun poke through the clouds as a Denver & Rio Grande Western Freight eases out of Cumbres Station on the westbound run to Chama, and later, Durango. Locomotive 485 has a fresh crew on board and a tender full of water but toughest part of the next hour won't involve a lot of shoveling or running with the injectors wide open. It will be managing the brakes. The next 12 miles are pretty much a roller coaster ride on rails down a 4% grade.
This image was captured on a September 2011 Lerro Photography Charter which featured DRGW K-36 Locomotive #489 lettered as her long-lost sister #485, which was scrapped in the 1950s after a turntable accident.