The 2015 Rio Grande Charter organized by Historic Transport Preservation (HTP) arrived at Apache Canyon crossing just 5-6 minutes prior to official sunset, with the intent of shooting a sunset picture here, but things were not looking good. All afternoon, the charter had to contend with filtered sun, due to the presence of a deck of high-altitude cirrus clouds. That cloud deck persisted and if anything, the sun was dimmer upon arrival at this location than it had been all afternoon. There was a slim hope however. A small sliver of blue sky was visible between that cloud deck and the horizon, and the charter lead called for the train to back up for a run-by, to prepare for the possibility that the sun would make a brief appearance as it dropped below the clouds. With the clock telling us we had 2 minutes until official sunset, the charter lead signaled the conductor to "bring it." We could not wait. As the train approached Apache Crossing, there was no sun. Then suddenly, as the lead locomotive went through the crossing and passed the photo line, the sun appeared in all its glory. In the next minute and a half, that train looked like it was on fire. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, the sun was gone. Mother nature and our charter lead could not have timed the pass any better.