Cumbres & Toltec - On the way back

This is the train we were on headed on to Chama.  We didn't get a photo of the station at Osier where a whole lot of people were efficiently fed a very nice lunch.  After lunch we boarded the train going back to Antonito.  We had assigned seats on the way to Osier but the train back was less crowded so we sat where we liked.  We sat on the other side of the train and saw all the scenery we missed on the way up.

Placed at the edge of the Gorge in memory of President Garfield.

An extinct volcano.

This 600' deep gorge was cut by a river.  This is some of the oldest exposed rock on earth.

People were free to move about the train after tickets were punched and many opted to ride in the open car where they could unobstructed views if they were tall or in the front row.

This section of track goes along the gorge.

Way back when, this is where the guys who maintained the track lived and maintained the tracks for 5-10 miles in each direction.  They shoveled snow off the tracks in winter and repaired tracks in summer.  This was and still is a very long way from any kind of town.  A decision was made to just let the buildings fall down but Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec have maintained them so we could enjoy them today.  We stopped here briefly on the way up the mountain to get more water for the engine.