Having crested Raton Pass, the eastbound Southwest Chief eases down the north side of the mountain into Colorado.

Three Amtrak SDP40F hood units hardly two months old yank Train 3 the combined Super Chief - El Capitan up Raton Pass near Gallinas, Colo. on Sept. 2, 1973. AT&SF wound up buying some of the SDP... (more)

Amtrak Train 3, the Southwest Limited, makes its daily ascent to Raton Pass, seen here at Gallinas, Colorado. Today’s train has three baggage cars and seven Superliners.

The southernmost foothills of the Rocky Mountains shine in the early morning sun as Amtrak's Southwest Chief negotiates the tight bends of the famed Raton Pass.

Twisting downhill on the east side of Raton Pass, the Southwest Chief will soon be in Trinidad, Colo. The short climb up and down Raton, while only about 20 miles in length, will take the train an... (more)

During a gorgeous sunny morning on Raton Pass, Amtrak's "Southwest Chief" is seen moving along the 2-percent grade past the s-curve at Gallinas, Colorado.

An eastbound BNSF empty ballast train works through the curves at Gallinas in Raton Pass as it heads back to La Junta, CO to tie up for the day after dumping most of its load around the Springer, ... (more)

Passing the siding at Gallinas in scenic Raton Pass, an eastbound BNSF empty ballast train has just topped the grade and heads back to La Junta, CO to tie up for the day after working around the S... (more)

BNSF 9264 east drops down off Raton Summit with a Herzog ballast train in tow. The train is just east of the Gallinas crossovers and will soon arrived at Trinidad to begin it's trip across the hig... (more)

With Fisher Peak looming in the background, BNSF power brings up the rear of this eastbound ballast train, and our chase to a close. We logged almost 2,000 miles in just a little under 48hrs to se... (more)

In gorgeous, late afternoon sun, Amtrak's eastbound Southwest Chief drops down the 2-percent part of the grade on Raton Pass with Fisher Peak in the background on May 21, 2016.

Westbound on the "Museum Mainline" at Gallinas within Raton Pass.

Fireman’s view from eastbound flagship Train 20, "The Chief," as it meets westbound Train 23, "The Grand Canyon," climbing the Colorado side of Raton Pass near Gallinas on May 10, 1967. Raton ... (more)

It's a gorgeous sunny morning on Raton Pass as Amtrak's westbound Southwest Chief, train No. 3 climbs the grade through the s-curve at Gallinas, Colorado on December 06, 2015.

BNSF's experimental AC44C4M #616, a rebuilt, former Santa Fe C44-9W leads a test train based out of Trinidad, Colorado up the Raton Pass outside of Gallinas. The locomotive features new A-1-A truc... (more)