Climbing out of Los Pinos. Rio Grande Locomotive 488 belches out a sooty black plume as she digs her heels in for the steep climb out of the Los Pinos Valley. The freight seen here is passing the Los Pinos Tank at MP 325.5, about 5 miles east of Cumbres Pass. This tank in the distance is the sole remaining structure from what used to be a complex of railroad buildings on the west side of the Los Pinos horseshoe curve. Beginning in the 1890s, Los Pinos was home to a section crew and a servicing point for snow plow trains that worked to keep the approaches to Cumbres Pass open during the winters. There was once a section house here, as well as a bunk house, a coal house and two coaling platforms. All of those structures were removed by the late 1930s. The original tank was built in 1880 and was rebuilt as you see it in 1986. Today, the Los Pinos Tank is no longer operational, as the passenger trains on the present-day Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad no longer require water between Cumbres Pass and Osier. It does however, make a great prop for an afternoon freight train photo!
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are all that remains of the legendary Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge system. Here you'll find some of my favorites from these two beautiful railways.
