We crossed the Tusas Mountains today, a leisurely drive from Pilar through Taos and following US-64 over the mountains to Chama. We arrived early in order to pick up our tickets for tomorrow’s train ride on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. The Rio Chama, a great trout stream, is right behind our camper. When it is quiet I can hear the water running. Unfortunately, I made a last minute decision to leave my waders and fishing gear at home. Maybe I will get to see someone fly-fishing. I really want a picture.

We stopped at the Chama Visitor and Information Center on our way back from the train station. They have free Internet so Jane sent me back to the RV for my computer. She wanted to watch the episode of Big Brother that she missed Thursday. While she was watching the rerun, I learned that the old steam train would be returning from Antonito (Colorado) and was easily accessible to photographers. 

Antique Narrow Gauge Steam Engine

I jumped in the truck and ran out highway-17 to intercept the train. That was fun, exciting and rewarding. And, I met a few other photographers with the same idea. We followed the train all the way back to Chama, taking pictures then jumping ahead of the train for the next viewing area.

Access to the Internet had closed before I could check email or post to the blog. I’m entertaining myself by editing pictures and running some much-needed backup. I also need to make more space on my hard drive.  JPEG files use a lot of space. Tomorrow may be more of the same. The train ride is an all day excursion. The visit center will be closed before we return. I hope to have some great scenics from the trip and maybe a few train images from an “on board” perspective.

Cumbres - Toltec Narrow Guage Train

Chama Continued:

I was right; the “onboard” perspective is different. We boarded the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad at 10:00 a.m. in Chama, New Mexico for our 64-mile journey across the San Juan Mountains to Antonito, Colorado. As you may be able to discern from the above picture, it was a quite nostalgic journey. This old narrow gauge railroad and its historic coal-burning steam engines are remnants of a time in the west that many railroad buffs try diligently to preserve. Except for a few full-time engineers, the staff is volunteers, many of whom spend each season “working on the railroad.” One of the Docent, equivalent to a tour guide, was from Georgetown, Texas. Since we are nearly neighbors, she immediately tried recruiting us into the volunteer staff.

The trip across and through the mountains was absolutely breathtaking. I can only imagine how much more magnificent it might be in two weeks when the leaves begin to change. As for pictures, I discovered that the “onboard” perspective was a bit more restrictive than I had hoped. It was either a picture from the left window or a picture from the right window. I’m talking about pictures of the train. Each curve, and there were many of them, would offer another view of the old engine spewing coal dust and steam. The sulphur smell was very strong at times and there was no way to avoid the soot and coal dust that settled on your clothes and your body.

Another “onboard” obstacle was the motion. There was not a still moment. We were rocking and rolling and swaying and jerking. And when we found a smooth straight area the steel wheels on the steel track created such a vibration that it was difficult to get a sharp image. Since the stock agencies reject so many images taken at ISO 400, I chose a very wide-angle lens and shot wide open to obtain the necessary shutter speed to overcome the train’s impact. It seems to have worked on a few images.

A pointer for all you photographers that I have learned from endless rejects: view your images at 100 percent to accurately judge the technical quality. Anything less and you won’t see all the artifacts and graininess. Judging sharpness will also be more accurate. Try sharpening an image at 100 percent and you can see if it is “really” sharp. Also, don’t try editing at any higher than 100 percent. That will only create problems that don’t actually exist.

The train made several stops along the way. It had to stop several times to take on water. We crossed the Cumbres Pass at 10015 feet. That was the highest point. We stopped in Osient for a huge and delicious turkey dinner for lunch. Staying awake for the rest of the trip was difficult.

The last five or six miles heading into Antonito was high desert plains. It was a steep descent with many switchbacks but the scenery was much less spectacular than the Cumbres Pass and Toltec Gorge. The return trip was on a large bus. The scenery again was spectacular but most of the passengers were either tired of taking pictures of sleeping from the overabundant lunch.

That night we made preparations for our departure. Our next stop would be less hospitable; no showers, no laundry facility; no Internet. We showered for the last time for several days and Jane did all the laundry. Arizona, here we come.
L8r

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