Dave's Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Site

DAVE'S RIO GRANDE NARROW GAUGE SITE
Last Update:

This site has moved to a new home!!! Please use the link below for the new location. This site will probably go down on December 1st. I have been unable to transfer this account to my new phone account so I am moving the pages over to a new service. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Go to the new page

In the mid 80's I began to get into the "narrow gauge". This was driven mostly by the fact that I was interested in large scale and from my first trip to Durango. I was on vacation in the canyon lands of Utah and decided to head back home through Silverton and Durango. I had never ridden on a real train and decided to buy a ticket in Durango and ride the Silverton train. The ride was incredible and the scenery was better than I had imagined. I bought an LGB passenger car at the small hobby shop that used to be in Durango. After that trip I purchased my first LGB 0-4-0 engine and started work on some track. In 1988 I headed back up to narrow gauge country to take my first ride on the Cumbres and Toltec. It was hard to believe that there was so much equipment in one place and the coaling tower was a very impressive site. I have been up to Chama every year since my first trip. Visiting Chama has inspired me to work on several scratch built projects. I work in 1:24 and have built accurate models of the Chama coal tower, Cumbres depot, Osier water tank, and the Hermosa bridge. My most challenging project has been a model of C25 #375 built mainly of brass with a wooden cab. I started the model about 1989 after the plans were published in Narrow Gauge and Shortline Gazette. I completed the model in 1996 for the narrow gauge convention in Durango. My current project is a model of K-27 #463 that has been in progress for a while.

The photographs on this page were taken during my many excursions up to Colorado. I live in Arizona so I only get to head up during my vacation time. I try to venture into a new railroad town each time that I head up that way. I enjoy seeking out any remains of the narrow gauge lines that I can stumble across. Hopefully I will get to explore the Ophir area a little more on my next trip. I have hiked in to the site of the old Ames tank but I have not checked out too much of the old trestle areas. On my last excursion into that area it was pouring down and I was unable to do much exploring.

This is probably one of the best pictures that I have snapped at Chama. I have taken many pictures of K27 #463 before and after the restoration and was glad to see it go back into service after so many years. This has to be my favorite operating engine. This picture was taken on the 27th of May 1995 as a passenger train pulled into Chama after a day out on the line.

On a trip to Chama during September of 97 I found engine #463 in disguise. The engine had been relettered for an RGS special and was down for the season.

I have never been able to get the lighting quite right when in Cimarron. It's just not a place that you plan to be for any length of time. This shot was taken in July of 91. I wish I could have seen this C16 running through the canyons but it was retired before I came along.