From Hawaii to Maine, Narrow-Gauge Trains Link Tourists to Bygone Days

CHAMA, N.M. —  Trailing sooty black smoke, two steam engines struggle to pull 12 passenger-laden cars of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad up the steep mountain grade through stands of scrub oak, aspen and evergreens.

Atop 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass, the crew uncouples one of the coal-driven locomotives for the gradual descent. Snaking 64 miles through the San Juan Mountains between Chama, N.M., and Antonito, Colo., the narrow-gauge train crosses high trestles and passes through tunnels blasted out of solid rock.

Narrow-gauges are a nostalgic link with an important chapter in America’s past. During the mining boom of the late-1800s, such narrow-gauge railroads wound through the Rocky Mountains. Then, they hauled gold and silver.

More than 20 operate today--always over short distances--from Hawaii to Maine. These remaining few carry only tourists.

“Railroads are hot across the country,” says Denver resident Steve Shoe, executive director of the Model Railroad Industry Assn. and public relations director for a Colorado narrow-gauge, the Georgetown Loop.

Narrow-gauges--which measure less than the two-track standard of 4-feet, 8 1/2-inches apart--are more adaptable than the heavier, more cumbersome standard-gauge trains in the rugged terrain of the West. They can climb steeper grades and execute horseshoe turns.

Their lower operating costs, lighter weight and greater flexibility have kept them in general use in much of the world today.

Pennsylvania has more narrow-gauge lines than any other state in the nation, followed by California and Colorado, according to Shoe.

Rolling stock, tracks and buildings at all the lines have been restored, rebuilt or built from scratch. Some trains are part of museums or shopping centers.

Only a handful are descendants of actual working railroads. Colorado has more of these than any other state. The Cumbres & Toltec, which boasts that it is the nation’s longest and highest narrow-gauge, is the only one that is jointly owned by two states, Colorado and New Mexico.

Like most other narrow-gauges in the snowy Rockies, the Cumbres & Toltec has a short season, Memorial Day through mid-October. Like many others, its profit margin is slim; keeping these relics running is an expensive business.

“We make a little money,” general manager Joe C. Vigil says. “I expect we’ll be here for a long time.” The Cumbres & Toltec has operated as a tourist line since 1970, and the number of passengers has increased 10% to 12% a year. More than 56,000 people rode the line last year, Vigil says.

He would gladly trade ridership with the Durango & Silverton Railroad in Durango, Colo., only 109 miles by road from Chama. Probably the best-known narrow-gauge in the country, the Durango & Silverton carried a record 210,000 passengers last year and has had more than 2 million since 1981, says vice president Amos Cordova.

As it has since the 1880s, the Durango & Silverton carries passengers through 45 miles of stunning wilderness along the Animas River to Silverton, Colo. The railroad makes a profit.

Things haven’t gone so well for another historic Colorado narrow-gauge, the Colorado Central at Central City, Colo. It went bankrupt a few years ago and discontinued its 20-minute rides.

Central City and neighboring Blackhawk, Colo., are now gambling towns. The Gilpin County Historical Society is looking for a buyer to operate a restored railroad between casinos in the two communities. “Hopefully,” says Imogene Rich, director of the county historical museum, “we’ll be running in a couple of years.”

In Rockhill Furnace, Pa., the 118-year-old East Broad Top, the oldest narrow-gauge east of the Rockies, battles for survival. Its decaying facilities, says general manager Stanley G. Hall, are still the most complete in the United States.

“We’re making ends meet,” Hall says of the national historic landmark. “But over the long haul, if we don’t get some assistance, I don’t know how much longer we can exist.”

The northernmost narrow-gauge is the White Pass & Yukon Route, which once transported Klondike miners from Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Easternmost is the Sandy River & Rangely Lakes Railroad in Phillips, Me., manned mostly by volunteers. “It’s a lot of hard work,” says director Kenneth R. Teele, “but a lot of fun.”

On Hawaii’s Maui Island, the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific steams through sugar-cane fields. At Felton, Calif., the Roaring Camp & Big Trees wends through virgin redwoods.

Narrow-gauge whistles echo all across the country. The East Broad Top’s Hall says, “It’s like a time warp.”