The Ultimate Narrow Gauge Charter - or 5 Days on the Rio Grande

Love it Michael! ; Cant figure out which one I like best, I guess they are all awesome. ; Great work!

 

Thanks John!

Erich, interestingly enough, the locomotive from Petticoat Junction, Sierra Railway #3 is still operable and is on display at the California Railroad Museum in Jamestown California.

 

Today's post is a little short since i didn't get a chance to upload a bunch of shots before work this morning. ;

The first location for today is Osier, Colorado which is currently the site of the lunch stop for the passenger trains. ; We stopped there on day 4 of the charter for lunch and the food was excellent. ; Four original structures survive at Osier, including the Depot built in 1880, the Section House built in 1884, the Water Tank built in 1880 and the cattle pens. ; The lunch facility which is visible in the background of both shots was added in 1989:



The mid train helper takes water:



Just east of Osier is a horseshoe curve. ; I shot another steamscape here which I think illustrates the remoteness of this section of the line well. ; There are dirt roads that allow access to several locations on the eastern portion of the line, but a 4 wheel drive vehicle and a good knowledge of the road system is highly recommended.



Next up is Rock Tunnel which is about 3 miles east of Osier and is another favorite location for photo charters. ; In a book I have on the line, there is a very early photo taken by W. H. Jackson that shows a trestle running all the way to the mouth of the tunnel which was replaced soon after the line opened with the stone retaining wall seen in the shot:



About a mile and a half east of Rock Tunnel we found a well lit location near Toltec Creek and stopped for runbys there:



Another mile east of Toltec Creek is Phantom Curve which was named by the early D&RG trainmen who when passing through the curve at night thought they saw strange shapes darting back in forth in the dim shadows in front of the engine. ; The rock spires in this location make the scene interesting, however this location is best shot in the summer when the light angles are much better than the late fall. ; This shot does ok in black and white, but still suffers from the poor lighting:

 

WOW!

 

Thanks guys!

I have no idea. ; If I had to guess, it may have been one of those things where someone decided to try it just to see if it could be done. ; However, it could just be a story that everyone likes to tell. ; As far as I know, nobody ever admitted to actually doing it and most or maybe all of the D&RGW trainmen are no longer around to tell us.

 

Next up are a series of photos from Sublette which has several original buildings still standing, including the Section House, Bunk House, several tool sheds and a Speeder Shed.

First up is a shot of 487 running westbound at the east end of Sublette, before reaching the siding:



Next, 487 passes through Sublette westbound. ; The structure in the foreground is one of the tool sheds. ; The Section House is the larger structure in the distance:



At the request of the European photographers on the tour, the fireman flooded the tender. ; The American's weren't very happy since it washed the accumulated grime off the rear half of the tender...



About 11 miles east of Sublette, we catch the train heading eastbound in Whiplash Curve where the train uses a pair of horseshoe curves to double back on itself three times to gain elevation quickly. ; The first shot is the train crossing the trestle near the site of the Big Horn Section House:



Next is a shot showing the conductor's view from the cupola of the caboose on a westbound train taken in about the same spot as the previous photo:



The final shot from Whiplash Curve is just east of the last two photos were we catch the train running eastbound at the state line marker:



As I mentioned before we had amazing weather on the trip, including two awesome sunrises on the east end of the line on days 3 & 4. ; The ride westbound out of Antonito in complete darkness in an open air rider car was also a neat but cold experience (it was 30° both mornings we left Antonito). ; Anyway, the next shot was taken on the day 4 when we had a mid train helper running westbound out of Antonito. ; This was taken about 2 miles east of Whiplash Curve and about a mile and a half west of Lava Tank:



The next series was taken pre-dawn through sunrise the same morning at Lava Tank.

Just before sunrise:



Sunrise:



Just after Sunrise:



Since a couple folks here have often said they wished they could hear the trains in my photos, I tried shooting a video of the last runby in the sequence at Lava Tank. ; Please forgive the shaky camera work as I was lying in the sand to get the angle I wanted, trying to shoot video on my iPhone with one hand and take pictures of the runby with my other hand. ; Anyway, here's the video:

[youtube]eLjEdXhUQnc[/youtube]

Next up is a shot of the train just east of Hangman's Trestle which is 6 miles east of Lava Tank and 5 miles west of Antonito. ; The original name of the trestle was "Cross Bridge" and later became known as Hangman's Trestle or sometimes Ferguson's Trestle after a Mr. Ferguson of Anotnito who was hung from the bridge for an unknown capital crime. ; Supposedly those responsible for the hanging commandeered a locomotive out of the Antonito Yard and ran it out to the trestle which was the first structure tall enough that a person's feet wouldn't touch the ground. ; We shot the train here shortly after sunrise on day 3 of the trip:



We didn't shoot the train any farther east than Hangman's Trestle, so the last shot I'll leave you with is one of the train crossing the trestle running westbound at sunrise:



It was an amazing 5 days on the C&TS. ; The weather was amazing and the train crews put on an amazing show for us. ; I hope to make it out there again someday for another charter.

 

That just after sunrise shot is beyond great. You need that printed large and on the wall somewhere. You also need to shop that out through an agency, maybe getty, it's that good. That's good enough to earn some future gear $, and should be the lead shot id you get any inquiries from future clients for a portfolio review

 

Michael, ; I agree. That sunrise shot is outstanding!

 

Thanks, guys! ; The sunrise shot is my favorite from the entire trip

 

Well that settles it. ; When is your next charter? ; I dont want to wait long for more train shots! ; Thanks for including the video, it was AWESOME to hear the train approach and pass by. I agree with everyone about that after sunrise shot, stunning. ; I also love that last one of the train on the trestle running west at sunrise.

 

Thanks, John! ; The next one I'm signed up for is on the WMSR in January. ; After that, Cass Railfan weekend in May is probably next, but I'm waiting for the schedule to be released in January before deciding for sure. ;