Elizabeth and I arose at 5:15 AM and could not believe that we were going home! We packed and loaded the car then checked out of the Quality Inn, driving over to the Super 8 to pick up Robin then drove to the Central Park A Line station and dropped off Elizabeth so she could get to Denver Airport for her flight home. Robin and I said our goodbyes to her before we took Interstate 70 east to Interstate 225 to Interstate 25, where we stopped at Monument at McDonald's for breakfast. From here we drove the straight shot down Interstate 25 to Trinidad and the railroad display there.
Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 638 built by Brooks in 1906. Long after the rest of the road had been dieselised, the Colorado and southern continued to use steam on its Climax-Leadville branch as the thin air at the high altitude of Leadville (10,152 feet) severely hampered the operation of internal combustion engines. 638 ran a few excursions in 1962 on the Moffatt line. That year, it was donated to the City of Trinidad and is on display on Purgatoire Drive.
A sign about the engine.
Colorado & Southern coach 545 built by Pullman in 1906.
Colorado and Southern wooden caboose 10707 painted as Chicago, Burlington and Quincy.
The rear end of this railroad display.
A steamroller.
One last view of Colorado & Southern 2-8-0 638. We drove over to our next stop.
The Santa Fe Railroad Trinidad freight house. Now we would wait for the Southwest Chief.
Amtrak Southwest Chief train 3 arrived in Trinidad. We left town and headed south on Interstate 25 to the Starkville exit and set up at the grade crossing at County Road 18.3 for our next set of pictures.
The Southwest Chief at Starkville. We returned to Interstate 25 south to the Clear Creek Road exit and went out on the bridge over Clear Creek and the BNSF and set up for the next set of pictures.
The Southwest Chief from the bridge at the Clear Creek exit off Interstate 25. We headed south and pulled off just south of the Dick Wootten Ranch sign and set up for the next series of pictures.
What a location to watch the Southwest Chief climb the steep grade of Raton Pass. From here we drove to Canyon Drive just north of Raton and set up for more pictures.
The Southwest Chief comes down the grade into Raton, New Mexico. From here we drove south on Interstate 25 to Exit 404, turned left on old US 85 to the semaphores at Colmar.
The semaphores in the high green and yellow positions.
We would know when the train is near when the right one drops to the red position and the train is in the block.
A few minutes later the right signal did just that!
The Southwest Chief splits the semaphores at Colmar, New Mexico.
We waited a few minutes then said goodbye to the Semaphores of Colmar and headed south on old US 85 to the next on-ramp to Interstate 25.
Wagon Mound before I got on Interstate 25, driving south to our next stop in Las Vegas.
A cloud with a face.
Santa Fe 2-6-2 1129 built by Baldwin in 1902 and donated in 1956. 1129 served on various AT&SF divisions in New Mexico for fifty-one years, and its last scheduled run ended in Belen, on 25th July 1953.
Sign about the steam engine. We filled the car with petrol and Robin bought some lunch then we returned to Interstate 25, taking it to Exit 330 to the Bernal semaphores. We parked and set up for the next series of pictures.
The semaphores at Bernal, New Mexico.
The train is in the block.
The Southwest Chief splits to semaphore signals at Bernal. We returned to Interstate 25 south heading to our next planned stop on this trip.
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