How would you like to be stuck behind this on the highway?

[nachoman]

About a week ago, a fire destroyed the deck of Lobato trestle on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad in New Mexico. The railroad runs trains from both Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico every day. The trestle is just 4 miles from Chama, effectively canceling the service from that end. To temporarily remedy this problem, the railroad trucked a locomotive and a bunch of cars from Chama to the other end of the line. This allows them to run two trains again. One train will depart Antonito as usual, and the other train will now depart from Cumbres - shortening the Chama ride by a few miles. Passengers will be bussed from Chama to Cumbres. A mostly normal schedule will resume, the only difference is that Chama riders will have to ride the first 6 or so miles by bus. Here is a video of the locomotive and tender on the back of trucks, heading up over the pass

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and a video of the trestle on fire:

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By the way, the railroad is still very much open for business, and is a great ride from either end of the line. They are also very open about letting people wander around the yard and checking out the old rolling stock. If you are in northern New Mexico or southern Colorado, I strongly recommend checking them out.

[ngauger]

That's amazing!!!!! Too Cool!!!!! I would have never thought a trailer could have held that engine....

[TrainNut]

That's amazing!!!!! Too Cool!!!!! I would have never thought a trailer could have held that engine....

If you get a chance, look at an aerial of the road between Cumbres and Antonito. I can't imagine that was any picnic to get that thing over the pass.
Here's a shot of Lobato bridge before the fire...

[TrainNut]

I found a newsclip brifly showing pictures of it as well...
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