An SLRG review

I had the good fortune to be riding the La Veta Pass train yesterday, July 1.

It was so good, I feel obligated to write this (hopefully) short review.

Folks, this is certainly one of the friendliest and most enjoyable rides you are ever going to experience!

First, ever single employee on the train was smiling, laughing, and in general making sure that every passenger was enjoying himself. When the employees are having fun doing their jobs, it just can't help but rub off on everyone!

The 1744 put on a great show and ran flawlessly. Charlie S. was running, and I have to tell you he really knows his stuff. If you weren't looking out the window when the train started, you wouldn't have known you were moving. There were no jerks from slack running in or out, and the ride was very smooth.

The scenery along this line is largely either flat in the San Luis Valley or approaching the town of La Veta, or it is winding up gulches and deep side canyons in the Sangre De Christo's. There are quite a few places where you can see some of the more beautiful peaks from the line, and the location of the track as it snakes around the canyons and climbs hard gives you a chance to appreciate the engineering involved in its location.

The town of La Veta is an interesting little place. We ate lunch at the La Veta Inn (about half a block across the park from the depot where the train stops) and it was very tasty and reasonably priced as well. We were lucky in that this past weekend there was a craft fair taking place in the park, and my wife and I managed to help boost the local economy there just a bit more.

I had the additional good fortune that Earl Knoob and Steve Butler spent a long time chatting with me about all sorts of things railroad and filling me in on some of the history and more recent happenings on their line. Guys, I can't thank you enough for pushing my whole day over the top.

For heavens sake, don't miss this ride if you can possibly work it into your next visit to Alamosa.