Ray -
The amount of RR stuff to see in Colorado is so vast, I'll
just confine this to the D&S vs. CATS question.
I've ridden them both several times, going back to 1960.
For spectacular scenery, the D&S wins hands down,
especially in September, when the aspen at higher
elevations should be gorgeous. It's also less likely to be
rainy then (which the western San Juans often are during
the summer 'monsoon,' July and August). Silverton is a
neat old town with lots of historic buildings, but very
touristy and commercial. Same for Durango, but much
bigger. And the first third of the trip, out of Durango,
is pretty developed now (when I rode the train first in
1960, it was all open country).
What argues for CATS is the remoteness and mellowness of
it all. Practically the whole 64-mile route is away from
roads and civilization, so you feel much more what it
would have been like 100 years ago. Chama is a quiet
little place with a number of great Bed & Breakfasts
within walking distance of the yards (practically
everything in Chama is within walking distance of the
yards). I can't remember the B&B where we stayed, but
it was wonderful, clean, very nice common room with
fireplace, etc., great breakfast, cooked early for us
because we had to leave. And I can still remember the
trout with pinyon nuts we had a local eatery the night
before. You can (or could) walk around the yards without a
guide or paying any money or any restrictions. A lot of
the original structures are still there (the RH, coal and
water facilities in Durango are gone, and the yard is
completely closed to public accers except for guided
tours). In Chama, when we were there, the hostlers were
totally friendly, invited my wife and me up into the cab
of 463, which was under steam at the time, and answered
all our questions.
If you do CATS, I'd strongly recommend staying in Chama
and taking the train east to west. It's an all-day,
one-way affair. You get up early, take a 1.5-hr bus ride
to Antonito, then spend the rest of the day working your
way back to Chama. You can do it in the other direction,
of course, and a lot of folks do because they want to
experience the 4% climb up to the pass, but then of course
you don't get to stay in Chama and explore the yards (and
Antonito is not as interesting as either Chama or
Durango). Moreover, you get all the spectacular stuff
right at the beginning of the train trip and spend the
rest of the day working your way downhill. Going east to
west, you're climbing most of the trip and it just gets
better and better. You start out in sagebrush steppe, work
your way up through pine scrub woodlands and pine/Douglas
fir forest, then along a ledge over the river, which goes
on for a long time, through a couple of tunnels and past
Toltec Gorge and into a hanging valley where there's a
lunch stop at Osier. From there, it just keeps getting
better as you go up a side valley through meadows, spruce
and fir forest, and finally across Cumbres before heading
down thorugh some equally beautiful country to Chama.
I'm making the case for CATS here mostly because everybody
else seems to be pulling for D&S. You won't lose
either way, believe me. They're both national treasures.
It depends or your taste. If you want to be closer to
civilization and have the most spectacular scenery, go
D&S. If you want to get deeper into the railroad and
get more rustic, do CATS.
Whatever you decide, you're gonna love it!
Jonathan
--- In CBQ@yahoogroups.com,
"Zephyr fan" <tczephyr@...> wrote:
>
> I'm planning a trip to Colorado in late Sept and have
always wanted to ride one of the narrow gauge lines. Does
anyone have suggestions as to which of the 2, either the
Durango or the Cumbres, has the best scenery and the best
for photographing? Recommendations for hotels at these
sites would be helpful as well.
>
> Any other near by RR sites to see? Planning on going
up to Denver and will defiantly include the Colorado RR
museum. Last time I was there was in 1968.
>
> Ray Bedard
> San Jose CA
>