Eastbound out of Lizard Head. Weaving her way south on the Dolores River, Rio Grande Southern 10-wheeler #20 takes a freight railroad east from Lizard Head Pass down to Rico.
This wintertime RGS re-enactment was staged on Colorado's Durango & Silverton during a February 2026 visit by Rio Grande Southern Locomotive #20, which is owned and operated by the Colorado Railroad Museum. The 20 was in Durango for the first time since 1952, to participate in a series of public and private railroad charters, including this photo freight. This particular scene depicts #20 and her freight approaching the Tank Creek water stop on the Animas River, at Milepost 474.65.
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.
