My last year and a half

Leaving Texas, we drove up the Capulin volcano which was pretty amazing.  This we drove into Colorado where we stopped in Trinidad and saw the C&S 2-8-0. A pretty bad storm is in the distance, so we didn't stay long. 

Our next stop on the trip was a ride on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad. We took the bus from Antonito to Chama and then road the train back to Antonito.  I never thought of my self as a narrow gauge fan before this trip, but the experience on the C&T was amazing.

After the trip, I walked around the yard at Antonito.

EAL posted:

 I never thought of my self as a narrow gauge fan before this trip, but the experience on the C&T was amazing.

 

I came away with the same feeling after I rode the C&TS back in the 70's.  I read in one of my books: "Once narrow gauge gets in the blood, it will not out."

The author was right.

Rusty

The next day we chased the train from Chama and then went to the Great Sand Dunes National Park.  A really busy day, but chasing the train was not very hard given its slow speed and there were a number of easy spots for photos.  Before chasing, I had some time to walk around the yard. 

Then the chase was on. 

More from the chase.

After leaving Alamosa, we traveled to Puelblo and spent the night. The next day we went to Canon City to visit the gorge. This meant three more locomotives, a ATSF 4-8-4 in Pueblo and D&RGW 2-8-2 and a Westside Lumber Shay in Canon City. 

great trip and photos, thanks for posting, more to come?

Very well done,  thanks for sharing the photos and providing the background story on the trip.   

After leaving Canon City, we traveled to see the Garden of the Gods and then up to Denver. After spending a day at Rocky Mountain National Park, we spent the next morning at the Colorado Railroad Museum. 

More from the Colorado Railroad Museum. 

Steam is steam, no matter what the gauge!  I love steam just as much as I love diesels, no matter what the gauge!  

On our final day in the Denver area, we headed out to the Georgetown Loop. We did not ride, as they were sold out. That evening, we went to the Forney Museum. 

The Forney museum. 

Leaving Colorado, we headed through Kansas and saw the monument rocks finally arriving in Topeka to spend the night. In the morning, we quickly stopped and saw the sad looking ATSF 4-6-4. 

From Topeka, we traveled to St. Louis with enough time for a visit to the MOT before heading to the hotel. This would be the last steam until the fall. 

We left on our trip to Colorado in late June of 2018 and returned home right before July 4th. Here are a few more from the Cumbres and Toltec.

I thought that I was done with train adventures after the amazing trip to Colorado. However, 611 was in Spencer in September and I decided to take a jump seat ride.  It was really cool experience! While I could not take pictures during the ride, I got plenty of shots of 611 pulling the museum train. 

A few weeks later, the Southeastern Railway Museum hosted Jeddo Coal #85. The museum is only about 30 minutes from my house, so I paid a visit. The little engine had to work a bit to get up the hill! I really like this museum, but I am bit saddened that 290 has been off exhibit for over 20 years.