Railfanning the Route

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!

Ralph "Beebe" Hawkins and Ella "Clegg" Hawkins returned to the Alamosa-Chama Subdivision in May of 2026, and our second visit back to the mountains of 1949 did not disappoint. Superintendent Stead, still in charge of this section of the Denver & Rio Grande, was kind enough to grant us permission to ride in the cab of the next available train. A work extra was being assembled outside his office, in the Chama yard, so we climbed aboard and thanked the crew in advance for what we already knew would be a great climb up the long hill. Mikado #488 made easy work of the grade up from the Rio Chama bridge — bathing some fishermen in steam as we clacked across the river. By the time we coasted over the bigger trestle at Lobato, the fireman's coffee pot on the backhead had warmed up and we all shared a cup of gritty joe. "Clegg" Hawkins suggested we toast to the glories of steam locomotion, and everyone agreed. After some water for the thirsty tender, at Cresco, the Mike worked hard getting its trailing gondolas of track supplies up the routing and into the next siding. Cumbres was the end of the line for this extra, so we thanked our new best friends for all the fun and made our way over to a double-headed tanker train that was also headed east. They had stopped at Cumbres to water and oil their locomotives, and to build up steam for the rest of the run to Alamosa. Somehow the crew already knew about Superintendent Stead's blessing for us to be aboard his trains, so "Clegg" found a spot on the footplate of Rio Grande #499, on the point, while this "Beebe" settled into the doghouse on the second kettle, No. 487, so I could enjoy the double smoke show. We eased out of Cumbres with a whistle contest between the hoggers. Soon the long cut of tankers snaked around the giant curve at Tanglefoot as the cars rocked and rolled gently over the slim gauge main. At Oiser we eased to a stop so the head end brakeman could coax some livestock off the rails. The fireman in the second engine noted that they had hit some beef cattle at that same spot not a week before, but it was not a waste because the farmer who owned them had taken them to town to be processed. Soon we were off again for the section house Sublette, but not before pausing for a timetable-required stop at the Garfield Monument. Not one to miss a moment, "Clegg" threw her chewing gum out of the cab and over the rim, just to see how far it would drop into the steep canyon below. Later on, as we moved onto the dual-gauge main at Antonito, the station clerk was out at the tracks with paper orders giving us permission to carry on as far as Alamosa. The message "Hope you are enjoying your ride. -- Sup. P. Stead" was included at the bottom of the instructions. Clegg and I agreed: What a nice guy. Our tanker trail picked up the pace on the flat mainline to Alamosa, and the two stacks braided the evening sky with smoke trails that seemed to follow us for miles. At the big town of Alamosa, we slipped off the locomotives as we eased through the yard. We thanked the double-headed crews for their fine hospitality and the good show, and made our way into town to find a motel with decent beds and some better coffee. Over a fine steak dinner made from meat from a local farmer — already tenderized! — our waitress in the L. D. Sig Saloon suggested we check out the little museum across the street before leaving town in the morning. Turns out the gallery featured the landscape paintings of the Superintendent's wife — an artist well known in these parts for her sweeping vistas and excellent trees.

Back home after our adventures, this Beebe and Clegg duo enjoyed developing our large-format negatives in our basement darkroom. Perhaps another book of photos is in order. One thing is certain: The Almosa-Chama Subdivision is a fine operation run by even finer folks.