For a taste of the Old West, ride a narrow gauge train through the Rockies. There are several to choose from in Colorado, and a favorite of ours is the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. It was part of the Rio Grande’s narrow gauge San Juan Extension, built in 1880 to serve the silver mining districts in southwestern Colorado. The railroad currently has five operating steam locomotives.
The ability of 36″ wide railroads to access the mountains drove the history of Colorado forward on iron rails. Those days are long gone, but the signature engine rumble, the clickety-clack of the wheels, the screeching brakes, the coal smoke, and the steam whistle echoing off the peaks are still here.
It makes me want to write, and I keep getting images of those wonderful sounds reverberating through the valleys where the tracks have been abandoned. It feels like a short story, but we’ll see what comes from it.
In the meantime, get your history on in old-fashioned comfort and style, when things were built with class and made to last. Oh, and the mountain scenery? Yeah, that will knock your socks off.
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