Now for the rest of the climb up the 4% grade to Cumbres Pass.
About a mile and a half up the hill is Hamilton's Point which is believed to have been named for L.C. Hamilton who was a D&RG (predecessor to the D&RGW) division superintendent in 1881. ; An early W.H. Jackson photograph refers to this location as "White Rock Point." ; The exact location of Hamilton's Point is debated, although most seem to think this location is the correct one:
The next runby location was Coxo Crossing where the tracks cross Rt. 17. ; I won't share any photos from there since the wind conspired against the photographers both days that we shot there and blew the plume back over the train completely hiding it in our photos since we were shooting from high above the crossing. ; From there the train continued on to Windy Point where the line rounds a volcanic rock formation that is often photographed from below. ; The light wasn't good from below when we got there, so we elected to shoot it from the opposite peak from a location known as Rodger's Rock which is about 200-250ft above the track level at Windy Point. ; First a closeup of the train rounding the point:
And a wider shot that one of my fellow railfan photographers likes to refer to as a "Steamscape" where the train becomes a small part of a larger scene:
From Windy Point, the train only has a short climb to the summit of Cumbres Pass where the line tops out at 10,015ft. ; Here we catch an Eastbound train starting the decent to Chama. ; The yellow building in the distance is the Cumbres Section House where track maintenance crews were stationed which was built in 1882:
The pass was a constant problem from a snow standpoint during the D&RGW days. ; Early on, there was a covered turntable at the summit to turn the locomotives which was eventually removed when the newer locomotives became too long to use the table. ; Later on, the two legs of the wye at Cumbres Pass was covered with a massive 526ft long snowshed. ; Due to lack of maintenance, most of the shed collapsed in the late 1970's leaving only one section standing which the Friends of the Cumbers and Toltec have preserved since it is the last standing example of a snow shed on the narrow gauge:
The charter operator offered a unique night shoot opportunity at the top of the Pass one evening. ; Since a second crew was necessary due to the long day running from Antonito to Chama exceeding the maximum work hours for the train crews, the second crew was able to keep one locomotive at the top of the pass until 9:30pm. ; Given the clear skies and almost non-existant light pollution, I jumped at the opportunity to shoot a locomotive under the stars. ; Most of the 60 charter participants apparently weren't interested in staying at the pass in freezing temperatures and blustery winds for a couple of photos since there were only 8 of us at the shoot, but the photos were definitely worth the effort.
487 simmers under the stars while a tractor trailer speeds by:
487 on the trestle just below the Section House where the tracks crossed over the old Rt 17 alignment:
487 shot from the other side of the trestle illuminated by the moon. ; It's hard to see due to the moonlight, but the milky way crosses through the upper right corner of the shot:
I had never seen the milky way before due to all of the light pollution we have on the east coast, so the night before the charter, I went up to the pass by myself to get some shots in case the weather didn't cooperate during the planned shoot later in the trip. ; This shot was taken standing next to the Section House looking down the tracks toward Antonito:
And last for today is a shot of the milky way over the Section House when it first became visible after sunset:
