After only four hours of sleep, I was up at 4:00 AM and after showering, checked e-mail, corrected the stories and uploaded them then packed and went up to the La Quinta Inn lobby where they allowed me to have breakfast. The taxi driver arrived on time but took a wrong turn so I saw more of Denver. I arrived at Denver Union Station at 5:05 AM and after the guard checked on me, I decided a few pictures could be taken.
I went across the street for this picture of Denver Union Station.
The view towards Coors Field. A man going to Las Vegas, Nevada sat down and passed the time with me until the Greyhound Thruway Bus arrived with two ladies going to Trinidad. Two other passengers bound for Raton also boarded after I informed them that Train 5, the California Zephyr, had hit a car in Illinois and delayed our train by six hours at that point. The bus left Denver Union Station at 5:35 AM and proceeded south on Interstate 25.
The view of the Joint Line south of Larkspur.
Pikes Peak was clear again today after my most excellent trip yesterday to the summit of that great mountain aboard the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad. The bus stopped at Colorado Springs and we had a fifteen minute break then once underway, we ran to Pueblo where we took another fifteen minute break and one more passenger boarded.
The bus and station at Pueblo before it left for Walensburg, where only the driver got off. After a few minutes, we were off to Trinidad.
Two buttes south of Walsenburg.
The Spanish Peaks.
Another interesting rock outcropping.
I saw two trains on the former Colorado & Southern; the second had these DPU's on the rear. We stopped at Trinidad for a third fifteen minute break and I visited the store there for some snacks then we continued on to Raton.
The Wootten Curve on Raton Pass.
The bus pulled into the weigh station before dropping down the grade to Raton, New Mexico where everyone debussed.
Raton 7/14/2009 We were met by the Amtrak agent who let us store our luggage in her station trailer. Since I was a sleeping car passenger missing a meal, I asked her if she could do anything for me and her reply was to get a receipt and she would pay me back. I asked if there was a good place to get a steak and she said K-BOB's Steakhouse, about two miles down Second Street. I decided a good walk would be in order and took off.
Santa Fe caboose 999140, built by the railroad in 1942 as Santa Fe 2131, is on display along the highway side of the Welcome Center, as is this railroad signal.
I walked down the rest of the way to K-BOB's Steakhouse and went in, ordering the Campfire top sirloin and then something caught my eye.
The salad wagon was a real wagon. The steak came and it was excellent, hitting the spot. The assistant manager drove me back to the Amtrak station and it was time to take some pictures.
Santa Fe Raton station built in 1904, designed in a Mission Revival architectural style. Railroad service through the community of Otero, New Mexico Territory began on July 4, 1879, when service opened to Las Vegas on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.
The interior.
The covered breezeway.
The station from various angles.
The Pointless Arrow lives on in Raton.
First Avenue.
The rear of the Amtrak station trailer.
The First Avenue store fronts. I talked with another passenger first during a thunderstorm and later during a major dust storm, with the wind making that "woooo" sound that I really like and watched. After that, I went to the Raton Theater and learned that films are not shown on Mondays or Tuesdays, so returned to the station.
The clouds made for some interesting watching this afternoon. I walked up to the Raton Public Library and accessed the Internet to clear out my e-mail. Back to the station, the Amtrak agent returned and after I gave her the lunch recent and proper paperwork was filled out, I received my money back then went out to the platform one tired train rider just waiting for his train to arrive.
Here is a view of myself waiting for the train taken by a Boy Scout.
More clouds of interest.
The Raton sign on the hill above town.
The Boy Scouts were also waiting patiently.
The same bus and driver were now waiting for Train 4, which was running 34 minutes late out of Albuquerque.
Southwest Chief, Train 4, arrived at 6:01 PM with a private car on the rear.
Santa Fe observation car "Vista Canyon", built by Pullman-Standard in 1947. It was built as a round-end observation car, then the round end was squared off in 1956 to allow the car to be used as a mid-train bedroom lounge car for more flexibility. It once ran on the Santa Fe's premier "Super Chief" train between Chicago and Los Angeles and had a lounge area at one end with rear facing windows, and private rooms at the other.
In 1968 it was sold to a private owner in Enid, Oklahoma, then to Fred and Dale Springer who added a small buffet kitchen in 1994. They ran it for 50,000 miles as a private car on Amtrak trains until donating it to the Arizona Railway Museum in 2001. In 2006 it was leased to Cruising By Rail for five more years of running on Amtrak trains, until returning to the museum.
At 6:09 PM, the eastbound Southwest Chief departed Raton for Chicago.
At 6:38 PM, the westbound Southwest Chief, Train 3, finally arrived to pick me up, which had a consist of P42DCs 161 and 131, baggage 1730, transition 39022, sleepers 32062 and 32064 "Michigan", diner 38084, lounge 33026 and coaches 34061, 34096 and 34013. I boarded the 32062 with Room 6 being mine for this trip, and had Anthony as my sleeping car attendant. I stored my luggage, went to the dining car and was seated right away. The train left Raton at 6:47 PM. I had the Braised Flat Iron Bordelaise and once back in my room, watched my Canadian Railroad DVD, as well as the sky.
The clouds in the western sky. I watched about an hour of the DVD and just before Las Vegas, New Mexico, made up my room and a tired Chris called it a night.
