Almosa - Chama Subdivision

You will not find two nicer persons in model railroading than Philip and Linda Stead. And you'll be hard pressed to find a nicer O scale layout of Colorado narrow gauge steam than their beautiful Alamosa to Chama Subdivision — especially such a subject modeled this far east of the Mississippi River. We ventured down the stairs into their basement and discovered hospitality as warm as their layout room is wide. The Steads have filled up their basement with the kind of railroading they love, but not in the cluttered way of so many modelers. One immediately senses the wide sweep and long run of the C&TS mainline they have meticulously modeled: the many graceful curves, the deep canyons, and the precise 4 percent rise over run as their trains leave the greenery of both ends for the snow-dusted high point in the middle. Climb up in their crow's nest at Cumbres, and you feel as though you are on top of the world ... and a long way from where your train started. Theirs is a beautiful layout, with plenty of room to enjoy it.

Philip was kind enough to treat team HawkinsRails to a ride over the entire mainline behind his trim Consolidation, Rio Grande Southern #40. With C&TS steam veteran John Coker at the throttle, our HawkinsRails delegation settled into the beautiful RGS business car "Edna" and took in the sights of the stunning stretch of mountain railroad. For Ella and me, it was a terrifically-timed prelude to our May 2023 visit to the real Cumbres & Toltec — our first taste of western narrow gauge. Number 40 made steady work of the 300' of mainline and 24" climb, and we even paused at the Garfield monument and later the Presbyterian Church in Alamosa to pay our respects. Thank you, lovely number 40, and thank you Philip and Linda, for such a wonderful afternoon. We'll be back for sure!