Look for the Canyon Diablo bridge east of Flagstaff. Also crossing Arizona Divide just west of Flag. The painted desert is on the north side of the train from Winslow to Holbrook. Haven't experienced it myself, and I don't know if the Chief runs through there during daylight hours, but I've heard that Glorieta Pass is worth the price of admission. Raton is a tough route to access, due to lots of provate property and gated roads. It can be done, though. The depot itself is worth a stop--Santa Fe architecture at its finest, and there's often a set of power sitting around. Never done Glorietta on the ground-it sure looks nice from the train, though. in albuquerque the big santa fe back shop is abandoned just south of the amtrak depot; about 20 miles north of there at lamy, there is a neat depot and connection with santa fe southern shortline that runs to santa fe; i rode it in july and didnt' see any amtrak, but you never know! Heading eastbound, the sun will come up probably somewhere around Seligman or Flagstaff. Flagstaff has a neat brick station on the left side of the train, and the old A&P sandstone depot, recently restored, is a little further east. On the other side of the train, directly across from the passenger depot, is a Southwest Forest Products steamer - I believe it's a 2-8-0. It's being stored there temporarily until a better display site is found. Heading east of Flagstaff but before Winslow, you'll cross a couple of "canyons." The Canyon Padre is first, then Canyon Diablo. You can't see anything of the famous bridge, and if you blink, you'll miss the canyons too. Coming into Winslow, the former shop area and turntable is on your right. As you pass through the yard, you may catch a glimpse of the old Amarillo, TX wrecking derrick on your left. The derrick was reportedly donated to the city for display - but the city didn't want it - so there it sits. At Winslow, the depot is on the left. Just west of the depot is the La Posada Harvey Hotel. It was used as Santa Fe offices for years, but is now being restored as a hotel (may even be open by now). I can't think of anything particularly noteworthy east of Winslow until you get to Joseph City. There's a big power plant here, which serves to tell you you're nearing Holbrook. There's a small yard at Holbrook were the BNSF and the Apache Railway interchange - this will be on your right. The daily Apache train usually hasn't come down from Snowflake by the time Tr. 4 goes through, so I doubt you'll get to see it. The Apache track takes off at the east end of the yard, and just over the only grade crossing in town, the old A&P sandstone depot is on your right. Amtrak does not stop there - I believe BNSF maintenance of way forces use it. Again, not much of note for several miles. Somewhere between Holbrook and Chambers, a coal branch takes off to the south, but I can't tell you a good way of knowing when it's coming up. At Chambers, AZ, there's a water tank on your left, and the tracks come back within seeing distance of Interstate 40. The next point of interest is Lupton, where you cross over into New Mexico. There are some nice scenic sandstone bluffs here - really makes you feel you're making a transition. Several miles further on, the Defiance coal branch takes off on your right - occasionally you may see a coal train here waiting to come out after Amtrak. A few miles further and you're in Gallup, NM, the next stop. BNSF has a yard on your left, and the depot, which is now mostly used as a cultural center, is on your right. This two-story stucco building once housed Santa Fe offices, and was once attached to the El Navajo Harvey Hotel (now a parking lot west of the depot). A Santa Fe caboose is on display east of the depot. Out of Gallup, the train passes along some red sandstone bluffs on the left side. At McCune, there's a spur that takes off to the right that used to run into Ft. Wingate - don't know if that's still intact or not. Continuing east, you're heading up the Continental Divide, though it's hard to tell. At Perea, the two main tracks separate for several miles, rejoining just past the crest of the divide at Gonzales. Whichever track you're on, you can usually see the other one in the distance, and some out-the-window train photography is often possible. The next town you reach is called Thoreau (pronounced "through" by the locals) - there's a wye on your right that was once used for turning helpers. The next point of interest is Prewitt, NM (called Baca by the railroad). Just west of Prewitt, a spur takes off to the left and heads to a Plains Electric power plant visible up among the red bluffs. A little further east, another branch takes off to the left. This is the Lee Ranch Sub, which runs up to some isolated coal mines that provide coal for, among other things, that power plant. The next large town you come to is Grants. The depot, now used by maintenance of way, is on the left. A few miles east of Grants, the tracks run along the base of a bluff, on the left, with the El Malpais lava flow on the right. This flow extends quite a ways south, but is only beside the tracks for a mile or so. At McCarty's, the tracks cross I-40, and roll through Acomita and Laguna. At Quirk, NM, you may be able to see the remains of a spur that ran to a uranium mine on the left. The tracks then pass through a short truss bridge - one of only a handful on the Santa Fe main, then swing back south toward Mesita. There used to be a Santa Fe emblem painted on rock face of one of the hills on the left side of the train a few miles after the truss bridge, but it's probably so weathered that it's no longer visible. At Suwanne (pronunciations vary - I call it Soo-AH-nee), the two main tracks separate for a few miles before rejoining to cross the Rio Puerco. The line immediately starts climbing up out of the valley, reaching the "summit" between the Rio Puerco and Rio Grande valleys at a location called Dalies. Dalies is also where the connection to the old main line through Colorado diverges from the double track "freight main." Just after the junction switch, there is a large steel water tank on your right. If you watch carefully, a few miles east of Dalies you can start to see where the old grade of the A&P was "straightened" over the years. The old grade weaves back and forth across the current alignment all the way to Isleta, where the line from El Paso and Belen swings in from the right. A few miles further, you cross the Rio Grande, and a few miles beyond that, you roll into Albuquerque. First on the right will be the "Kachina Lift," Albuquerque's intermodal facility, then the classification yard, yard office, and old shop buildings all on the left side of the train. Shortly after passing the shops, the train pulls into the "station." Albuquerque's classic 1902-built station burned down in 1993. When I was in ABQ last July, the gaping foundation was still there. The boarded-up Western Union Telegraph office is just south of the depot site, and the 3-story head house for the freight depot is behind that, fronting on First St. The building currently serving as the depot fronts on First street as well. It began life as a warehouse for the Alvarado Harvey Hotel complex, and is now the last surviving remnant of that complex. Leaving Albuquerque, the train runs north along the Rio Grande valley for several miles. The semaphore signals start up just south of Bernalillo. At San Felipe Pueblo, you can see the river on the left side of the train, straddled by the scenic little pueblo (the train is also the only way to photograph that pueblo without getting slapped with a fine). There's an old Santa Fe point-of- interest sign on the left that identifies San Felipe Pueblo and Black Mesa. A few miles further north, you pass through Santo Domingo Pueblo, and a similar sign on the left identifies the place. Just beyond the pueblo is Santa Fe's siding called Domingo. There's a steel water tank on the left side. A few miles further on, you pass beneath I-25, and a disconnected spur takes off to the right. This spur was once the main line - it was rerouted around an impounded lake in the 60's. A short length of track was retained to serve an industry, but even this is now closed. The next siding you come to is Waldo. You can now tell everyone you meet that you know where Waldo is. Santa Fe used to have a branch south of here to Madrid to serve a coal mine, but the grade is barely visible anymore. The next place recognizable as a town is Los Cerrillos. Just past the town on the left, a fellow has moved in a couple of Santa Fe cabooses, and uses them I believe as a residence. Finally, the train arrives at its next stop of Lamy, NM. The branch to Santa Fe takes off on the left just before the station. A couple of D&RGW cabooses are on display just west of the depot. Leaving the station, there's a small water tank on top of a hill that used to serve the railroad. Lamy is the start of Glorieta Pass, the second highest on the railroad. A few miles east of Lamy, the tracks run through one of the most fascinating 1/2 miles in New Mexico railroading - Apache Canyon. The place comes up out of nowhere - suddenly there's a sheer rock wall on your left and a drop of 30 feet or so to the creek on your right. A few hundred feet later, the train crosses the creek on the "spider bridge" (a through-girder bridge with "feet" that come out to the sides of the canyon for extra stability), then about 200 feet later crosses it again. The valley widens out rapidly after that, and you cross another short truss bridge. Just beyond is the "town" of Canyoncito, and just beyond that, you dig into the 3% grade up to Glorieta. This is one of the prettiest parts of the trip, in my opinion. You travel along at about 25 mph, the train weaving and winding through the sharp curves. Finally, you pass through a red sandstone cut, and on the right in the middle of a sharp curve is the old Glorieta depot, now the town post office. Glorieta is the summit of the pass - for the next several miles you descend into the valley of the Pecos River. If westbound Tr. 3 is on time (and you're on time), you'll probably meet him somewhere between Lamy and Fox, the next siding after Glorieta. In the middle of Fox siding, on the left, is another point-of-interest sign pointing out Pecos Mission. If you look closely, way across the valley you may be able to make out the red sandstone ruins of the mission. The train crosses the Pecos River at Ribera, and there is another steel water tank on your right. The rails now start climbing again out of the valley, and in about 10 minutes, enter yet another of the more fascinating pieces of New Mexico railroading - the horseshoe curves at Blanchard. The first curve is to the left, and even from the coaches, you can see the locomotives clearly as the train bends itself around the curves. The tracks weave back and forth, and eventually out the right side you can look down the valley and view the circuitous route you just traversed. A few more bends, and your back on the straightaway at Blanchard siding. The semaphores, missing since San Felipe, start up again just after Blanchard. At Chapelle, there's another short steel water tank on your right. The next part of the trip takes you through some remote but pretty country, and over a couple more truss bridges, until finally I-25 comes back in sight at Romeroville. A few miles further, and you're in Las Vegas, NM. There's lots to see coming into Las Vegas - all on the left. The first is one of the few surviving Santa Fe roundhouses. No tracks run into it anymore, and it's been abandoned for years. The old roundhouse office stands nearby. Next is the brick Santa Fe freight house, also abandoned, and then the passenger depot. Just east of the passenger depot is the La Castaneda Harvey Hotel. One of the oldest survivors, it's now in private hands, and unfortunately those hands aren't too keen on keeping the place up. As you leave Las Vegas, if you look sharp, you may be able to catch a glimpse of Santa Fe 2-6-2 1129 on the left, on display by the old highway through town. Out of Las Vegas, you run across the flat for a little while (Las Vegas, after all, means "the plains"). There's a former railroad stockyard on your left at Onava. A few miles further you roll through Watrous, and the tracks curve to the right into a pretty little "canyon" of the Mora River called Shoemaker Canyon. You cross another truss bridge, and a few miles later descend into the canyon. There's one curve to the right where you may be able to shoot the head end from the coaches. The train winds through the valley, past the bustling metropolis of Shoemaker, and then weaves and curves its way up out of the valley back onto the plains. The next town along the route is Wagon Mound. There are a couple of volcanic formations on either side of the tracks that, from a distance, do look a little like conestoga wagons with a team in front. The rails continue on through what's left of Colmor, NM, then the somewhat healthier community of Springer, and then to French, where the coal line to York Canyon takes off on the left. The right-of-way here was once an SP branch from Tucumcari to Dawson, and the remains of the SP flyover can still be seen on either side of the train. I-25 crosses back over the tracks at Schomberg, NM, and the hills you will eventually have to cross going over Raton Pass begin to come into view. As the rails head toward Raton, the grades from a couple of flyovers from long-abandoned coal branches can be seen. Finally, you arrive in Raton. On the left, there's a yellow frame building that was once the Santa Fe freight house, and a few blocks later you arrive at the classic passenger depot, also on the left. continued in part 3 [ Reply to this thread ] [ Start a new thread ] [ Back to thread list ] continued in part 2 Now you begin the 25 mile, 25 mile-an-hour trip over Raton Pass. The west side of the pass is pretty uneventful - a mere 3.3% grade. You have one siding at Keota, then a spur at Lynn, and then the tracks dive into Raton tunnel at the summit of the pass. A point-of- interest sign - can't recall if it's on the right or the left, warns you of the tunnels approach and of the altitude - the highest point on the Santa Fe. The tunnel is about a mile long. Not much to see in there, but if you're perceptive, you can feel the apex as the train goes over the top. Popping out on the Colorado side of the pass at Wootton, on the right you can see the sealed-up portal of the original tunnel through the mountain right next to the current one. On the left, you pass the New Mexico/Colorado state line marker and a Raton Tunnel point-of-interest sign identical to the one on the Lynn side. Winding down the 3.5% grade toward Trinidad, there are a couple of opportunities to photograph the head end from the coach windows. There are no semaphores on the pass, unfortunately. At old Uncle Dick Wootton's ranch, there's another point-of-interest sign on the left. At Morley, an old coal mining town, you can see the foundations of the company houses and the loading tipple, and the remains of the church at the top of the hill. You can also see a large pile of tailings from the workings up here. That's I-25 on the right. The only town of any size on the pass is Starkville, after you've come off the worst part of the grade. An old railroad water tank, now privately-owned and painted green, is on the right. At Jansen, you cross the Purgatoire river, and roll on into Trinidad. The modern 60's-vintage depot, complete with a red neon "Santa Fe" sign, is on the left. Across the street to the east is the much older brick and frame Santa Fe freight depot on the right. A little further east on the right is the remains of the old C&S yard. BN and Santa Fe used to cross at a diamond north of town, but a realignment in the early 90's took the BN main out of downtown, and it now crosses the Santa Fe on a bridge. It sounds like you're getting off in Trinidad? C&S 2-8-0 638 is on display in town, across the Purgatoire and a few blocks east from the Santa Fe depot. The abandoned BN grade through town can still be seen, along with the abandoned depot. Have a good trip!