Matt, that's a great set of unseen pictures! This location is on the Farmington Branch and the train was headed north towards Durango, more than likely empty. The wreck is approximately at the old "station" of Sunnyside. This location can be found on the Farmington Branch valuation map. Sunnyside had a short spur and a retired boxcar “depot” during the branch’s standard gauge years. The cattle guards seen in the background of picture #1 are at what is now County Road 215. CR 215 intersects with US 550 up on the Florida Mesa about a half mile to the east. At the photo location, CR 215 now has an intersection with CR 216 which heads south parallel the ROW (along the fence line) for about 2 miles to a dead end. The cottonwood tree in the background is still there with many starters since!
It would be interesting to know what happened to cause this accident as the track is on a straight tangent at this location with the grade being very gradual with no ups or downs for several miles.
Thanks for posting the pictures Matt!
Ray Loose
Durango, Colorado