Cumbres and Toltec Engine 463 done up in a special celebratory RGS 455 paint scheme going past the water tower outside of Chama New Mexico

Colorado Railroad Museum Polar Express 491 stopping to pick up crew

Colorado Railroad Museum Polar Express

In the 1940's, Rio Grande Southern often leased some of the D&RGW's older locomotives including C-18 #315. On one of those leases, #315 works as a midtrain helper pushing hard against a heavy frei... (more)

Rio Grande Southern #455 storms uphill on it's way to Lizard Head Pass with another heavy freight train. Six cars back, leased D&RGW #315 shoves on the train as it climbs the steep grade. It r... (more)

The End. Although most steam charter photos tend to focus on the front end of the train, the 2017 Rio Grande Southern re-creation charter at the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad wasn't jus... (more)

On the pass at Lizard Head.... The long-extinct Rio Grande Southern railroad ran from Durango to Ridgway, Colorado, a distance of about 162 rail miles. Like the D&RGW Line between Chama a... (more)

RGS 455 at Apache Canyon. RGS 455 (DRGW 463 in disguise) hauls her freight around the rock formation just east of Apache Canyon Crossing at about MP 327.75. This particular location and... (more)

Volcanic Rock. It's just past high noon as our re-creation RGS Freight with the 455 on the point charges upgrade past an odd formation of ancient volcanic rock. This formation, at around ... (more)

Water at Matterhorn.Our Engineman stands patiently in the gangway, as his Fireman fills the tender cistern of Rio Grande Southern Mudhen #455 from the standpipe at Matterhorn.

Astute o... (more)

By the light of the silvery moon.... and with a little help from some strategically-placed strobe lights, RGS Mudhen #455 poses for an evening portrait with her freight train, on a remote d... (more)

Late Afternoon Eastbound. A pair of elderly Rio Grande Southern Locomotives hustle a heavy freight east toward Durango in the fading afternoon sun. In this 2017 re-creation, our power line... (more)

Water Stop at Matterhorn. In the midst of intermittent rain showers and sunny breaks, a re-creation Rio Grande Southern Doubleheader pulls into the section camp at "Matterhorn", w... (more)

Part of the care and maintenance of any coal burning steam locomotive includes cleaning out the ash pan, and just as it's been done spanning three centurys, today in Chama is no different.

RGS Doubleheader. D&RGW #315, a C-18 Consolidation, and RGS #455, a K-27 Mikado double head on a Rio Grande Southern freight re-creation on a warm afternoon in late summer. The train is s... (more)