I just got back from my first trip to the Colorado narrow gauge country--and the reality thoroughly lived up to my life-long dreams.
A few flatlander's observations, most of them no doubt old news to those of you who live in the high country, but anyway things I found noteworthy...
1. The Cumbres is the ride of a lifetime, period. And the parlor car is THE ONLY way to travel. I was especially tickled to be pulled up the 4% by 497 piloting 463--the Beast and the Mudhen were a dream combination.
Terri Shaw for the Friends and Dan Ranger and Kim Smith Flowers for the RGRPC gave this out of towner a warm welcome, and it was a pleasure to meet and talk to so many of the Friends. What could be better than having Spencer Wilson as your personal train host?
2. Georgetown Loop is the most underappreciated RR west of the Mississippi. Yes, it's a short ride compare to the behemoths at Chama and Durango, but mile for mile what a ride it is! John Hammond and his crews know the job they're there to do and they do it with good cheer and consummate professionalism. Steve Peck could not have been a more gracious host. And I can't say enough about the overall heritage and preservation setting--Silver Plume is worth a day all its own, Georgetown another, and the surrounding region at least a third.
3. Durango is no doubt not the mecca it once was, but it is not nearly so bad as I feared from the "Disneyland" rap. All in all what I found was a mild but pleasant surprise by contrast to my lowered expectations. I guess to anybody who knew Durango in the old days the present state of affairs there is pretty painful, but setting aside what might have been and looking at what is I was impressed. The new management clearly cares much more about “heritage” as a selling point, and is more fan-friendly.
The new roundhouse is very very impressive. The brickwork is not identical to the old façade but is very complimentary, and the interior is held up by genuine wood beams. On the south side you have the new six-track section which is now the Museum. They keep one door open so you can watch the turntable at work, and there were lots of windows open that gave you a look and a smell of the working side. The gun-toting security guards of yesteryear are gone, replaced by a very nice friendly flag-person, and the yard gate is left open and you’re free to walk around the passenger platforms whenever trains are going and coming. You can’t just hoof around the freight yards and other areas.
The sight of the roundhouse at morning or night is tremendous. Is there anywhere else in the country where four engines are sent out for duty from a real roundhouse, and serviced again at night? I can’t think of any. And the beartrap spark arrestors are all gone. Now if only they would dump that Wild Wild West 1880s font on the tenders…
In sum—well, it’s still a tourist road and no Chama. But then again, they are making enough money to run four steam engines every day in season, which is an accomplishment in my books and makes their roundhouse ops more “real” than those of many museums.
4. I was amazed by how easy it is to follow the old NG grades, and how many neat remnants of the vanished lines there are. The DSP&P over the pass from South Park to the Arkansas Valley; the Colorado Central peeking out from under Rt 6 in Clear Creek, the D&RGW for miles west of Chama. Out east this stuff all goes back to vegitation in no time flat. And my god, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting narrow gauge rolling stock used as a shed! Who knew?
5. Silver mine tours and ghost-town exploration are almost as good as preserved railroads. The Mayflower Mill in Silverton is another EBT or Chama--not a thing has changed from the day the last shift left work, right down to the entries in the legers and the notices tacked on the corkboards--amazing and fascinating.
6. Como is one of the neatest towns in Colorado, and one of the strangest and creepy-tingliest in terms of the contrast between past bustle and present condition.
I could go on by that's enough raving for one night. Thanks to everyone who hosted me, showed me around or took the time to talk, and everyone who keeps these treasure alive for folks like me to visit and enjoy.
