Western Railroad Discussion > Road to Pueblo (pt #3): SW Chief! Raton!

From my motel room in La Junta I witnessed a late Amtrak #4 during its station stop. Next morning it was grab some yummy fast breakfast junk and get right into a chase. The RR waits for NO fan…

40. & 41. At 9:05 AM BNSF 4367 leads an eastbound manifest out of La Junta, CO. Let a short chase begin…

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42. A little reflection shot near Casa, CO followed by…

43. …a grab shot from the US hwy 50 overpass on the west side of Las Animas, CO.

44. A final shot way down east of the Las Animas depot. At this point I bid the train adieu and headed back west.

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45. & 46. AMTK 150 leads train #3, the “Southwest Chief” into La Junta, CO.

47. With the chase I had in mind I couldn’t be fooling around in La Junta. One shot during the station stop and I high-tailed it for US hwy 350. I have to stay ahead of #3 if I wanna shoot it again down the road.

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While traveling down Highway 350 I got caught up in one of those ‘one-lane, pilot car-follow me’ construction zones and sat 2nd out in line for-EVER! Where I was stopped was far enough away from the RR that I couldn’t keep an eye on it. I thought #3 would get around my position and I’d miss the whole shooting match. All I could do was trust to railfan karma…

48. 49. & 50. My karma held, but I wouldn’t know for sure until #3 actually showed up here under the US hwy 160 overpass in Trinidad, CO.

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51. & 52. With friendly text message help I found the County Rd 18.3 crossing near Starkville, CO. For some reason, even with the crossing apparatus in apparent working order the train had to be “flagged” over.

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53. & 54. This gave me time to find the Rd 6 exit south (TT west) of Starkville and got another series of shots.

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55. 56. & 57. I covered the station stop at Raton, NM from arrival to departure, and even saw a trio of Boy Scout buses awaiting some young, uniform-clad passengers. But something was conspicuously missing. And it was conspicuous only because of its heart-breaking absence: Red & Silver…

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Time was running short, and I had to meet some people in Pueblo. So it was time to find Interstate 25 and put some serious mileage behind me.

58. Finally reaching Pueblo, CO I got a quick tour of the downtown/Union Depot area. I was afforded my first in-person look at SFe 4-8-4 # 2912 down at Pueblo Union Depot. Any time I see a Santa Fe steam engine on display, even if it’s for the very first time, it’s like I’m visiting an old friend…

59. One more: We’re on W ‘B’ St which runs in front of Pueblo Union Depot. We’re looking NE up the alleyway between S Victoria & S Union Avenues. It’s literally a world-gone-neon, with a very photo-genic collection of signs. Beautifully lit up for an overcast, 8:08 PM blue-hour exhibit…
(20 photos taken July 24, 2019)

Thanks for riding along!
Lance Garrels
santafe199

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You really know how to keep an elderly Santa Fe rail fan very happy. Made the trip from La Junta to Trinidad in 1989 and then over Raton and on thru Albuquerque. All photos lost in High Park Forest Fire so really enjoy your shots. As for the neon alley gave me a "Are we still drunk?" flashback. Many thanks Lance.

Don Allender

Thanks for the interesting series!

Larry

ATSFSuperChief Wrote: > ... As for the neon alley .........

That was an interesting place! I wish I'd had proper time to do a complete photo-study. LOTS of angles, exposures & focal lengths to explore with all that neon (around the corners back there, also)...

Lance

Nice shots of the Chief!

Randy Lundgren
Elgin, TX