Working toward Windy Point. Just 40 minutes after leaving Coxo Crossing, the Cumbres & Toltec's Rotary Outfit works its way along the ledge above Coxo, headed for Windy Point, just ahead. After watching Rotary OY work through the deep, dense snow-pack at Coxo, most of the photographers and videographers assumed that the run from Coxo to Cumbres Pass was going to be a tough slog. After all, historically, some of the worst drifts are found in this steep and treacherous stretch of track. So when the snow train appeared out of the woods up there on the ledge, in less time than it took most of us to eat lunch, we were pretty amazed at their progress. The train moved pretty steadily, with frequent bursts of wheel slip, generally plowing a pretty decent plume of snow, but occasionally finding wide open track. In this view, we see OY just getting past such a bare stretch and once again encountering plowable snow. I was lucky to get this frame with at least some parts of OY visible. For the most part, when she was underway up there on the ledge, the fountain of snow from the discharge was totally obscuring the plow.
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are all that remains of the legendary Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge system. Here you'll find some of my favorites from these two beautiful railways.
