Three generations of narrow gauge, steam locomotives share the tracks in front of the Silverton Station on a cool August evening. On the main line, a Denver & Rio Grande Western C-18, built in 1895, stares down a company K-28, built nearly 20 years later. On the siding, a very ornate Eureka & Palisade American, built in 1875, looks more than a little out of place in Rio Grande territory. Although the service lives of all three of these locomotives did in fact overlap each other to a fair degree, their geographic differences would have prevented them from ever meeting "face to face". For that reason, this photograph does not pretend to depict a recreation of a historical event, but rather, it provides a first-hand record of one.
A continuously growing album of photos that IMHO reveal the awesome and seldom-seen beauty of the railroad world from the dimming of day to dawn's early light! From dusk to dawn, trains roll on! (I'm still finding gems of sunset-to-sunrise surprises!)
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are all that remains of the legendary Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge system. Here you'll find some of my favorites from these two beautiful railways.
