Leaving Big Horn westbound. After taking on water from a pre-positioned tank car on the siding at Big Horn Peak, our D&RG doubleheader featuring Locomotives 168 and 425 resume their trek west across the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, hauling the line's recently restored, historic passenger consist. In this image, we see them at about MP 299.8. Today, the passengers are mostly photographers, attending the final few days of the railroad's 2021 Victorian Iron Horse Round-up event. Although the sky is predominantly clear in this 10:30 AM photo, the weather in the high country can change rapidly. Just a couple of hours after this photo was taken, instability cloudiness over the mountains left us with pretty much a solid overcast that lasted until the late afternoon.
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.