Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

2026 Projects Announced

FriendsCT — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:46:47 +0000

The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad have announced preliminary plans for the 2026 Projects and Work Sessions, with volunteer opportunities scheduled from May through September in Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico. These work sessions will focus on hands-on preservation, maintenance, and restoration efforts that support the continued operation and historic integrity of the railroad. Registration is expected to open in early March 2026, with project details finalized as volunteer leaders and crews are confirmed.

View Work Session Projects

The post 2026 Projects Announced appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Work Schedule for 2026 Work Sessions

FriendsCT — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:47:15 +0000

View Fullscreen

The post Work Schedule for 2026 Work Sessions appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Winter 2025 Dispatch Has Arrived

FriendsCT — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 15:47:56 +0000

The Winter 2025 C&TS Dispatch captures the heart and momentum of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad like never before. This issue celebrates the volunteers, docents, and craftsmen who bring the railroad’s rich history to life every day—onboard the trains, in the yards, and across the high mountain landscape. Readers are taken inside unforgettable experiences, from riding the rails with expert Friends docents to witnessing the return of the legendary Galloping Geese, icons of ingenuity and survival in narrow-gauge railroading. The issue also highlights major preservation milestones from the 2025 work sessions and showcases expanding education programs that are inspiring future generations of rail enthusiasts. Together, these stories invite you to not just learn about the Cumbres & Toltec—but to be part of preserving, sharing, and experiencing its living history.

Dispatch Available Here

The post Winter 2025 Dispatch Has Arrived appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Webcams are LIVE!

FriendsCT — Mon, 14 Jul 2025 14:24:25 +0000

Live C&TSR cameras are available to view here.

The post Webcams are LIVE! appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Tracks Across Borders Byway (TABB) – Exploring what history has left behind

FriendsCT — Thu, 22 May 2025 17:17:31 +0000

The Tracks Across Borders Byway invites travelers to take a scenic, historic journey between Durango, Colorado and Chama, New Mexico — tracing the old narrow-gauge rail corridor of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. This 125-mile byway offers a rich mix of natural beauty, cultural heritage, and railroad history: visitors can explore Native American sites, ride vintage trains, view sweeping western landscapes, and stop at points of interest like national monuments, state parks, and local communities steeped in history.

Operated as a nonprofit and officially designated a scenic and historic byway in both Colorado and New Mexico, the Tracks Across Borders Byway also provides a free companion mobile app for self-guided tours with audio highlights and geo-alerts. The route is best experienced spring through fall, with advisories about road conditions and vehicle requirements for some stretches.

Visit TABB

The post Tracks Across Borders Byway (TABB) – Exploring what history has left behind appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

All Aboard for Learning: Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Unveils Exciting New Educational Resources

FriendsCT — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 19:07:32 +0000

Get ready to embark on a journey of discovery of railroading and historic exploration with the website launch of our Virtual Education Program and Junior Engineer booklet!

“We’re thrilled to bring the rich history of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad to students everywhere,” said Kathleen Walser, Education Team Lead. “Our goal is to inspire a love of learning, a curiosity about the world around us, and a deeper appreciation for the importance of preserving our cultural heritage.”

Imagine a world where students can explore the historic Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad from the comfort of their own classroom or home. Our innovative program brings the magic of the railroad to life through interactive learning materials, including PDF text, mini-booklets with abbreviated text and activities, and additional activity sheets.

New units are being developed by our talented team, and we’re seeking experts to join us in creating even more engaging content! If you have a passion for education and a love for trains, email education@fctsrr.org to be part of this exciting project.

Explore More

The post All Aboard for Learning: Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Unveils Exciting New Educational Resources appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

2026 Calendar Photos Now Being Accepted!

FriendsCT — Fri, 05 Jan 2024 16:31:25 +0000

Do you have photographs to be considered for the 2026 Calendar? It is time to start getting them ready and sent in! There is a FIRM DEADLINE of January 31, 2025 to accept photos for consideration.

ATTENTION MEMBERS!

Please send the highest quality/largest size image possible.

Calendar Photo Submissions: We invite our members to send us photos for future calendar consideration. Please limit your submissions to 10 of your favorite photos highlighting the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad that you have taken.

Only JPEG or TIFF file formats will be acceptable.

Largest possible file sizes are needed to produce the best results.
You may have a 8 or 20 megapixel cameras but to get the largest files size you will need to set the camera to the largest file size (highest resolution).
At the highest setting 5 to 10 megapixel cameras produces a file that can be used for our ‘Thumbnail’ spots.
We will need 10 megapixel files or more to print a ‘Feature’ or ‘Cover’ shots.

PHOTO FILE MUST BE NAMED AS INDICATED! Please rename each photo using the following format: Photographer Name_ Calendar year_ Location (or Subject)_ Date Taken

NOTE NAME MUST BE FIRST such as:

John Smith_2025_463 Crossing Lobato Trestle on a sundrenched day _May 31 2018

Be sure to include a brief bio (WE WILL NOT USE “LAST YEAR’S BIO” this is your personal statement and we will not rewrite or edit YOUR information!) and contact information in a Word Document (NO PDF FILES! We need to be able to copy and paste!) along with your captioned photos or a Word Document that includes your photo file name and providing captions on a flash drive (CD’s cannot be accepted) to:                                

             Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, Inc.
             4421 McLeod Rd NE, Suite F
             Albuquerque, NM 87109.

Electronic submissions will be accepted at katharina@cumbrestoltec.org. If you prefer, contact us for an online file sharing link to use to upload your photos. We have found the WETRANFER.COM works great! WeTransfer – Send Large Files & Share Photos Online – Up to 2GB Free. Those files are only active for 7 days and then are removed from their platform. Please verify by email that we will be able to access those files within 7 days especially around the holidays.

Photographers submitting images are automatically granting permission for their use in the 2026 calendar and will receive credit but retain ownership and copyright. Subsequent uses by the Friends of the C&TS or the Railroad are subject to additional approval and permission. The photographer receives no compensation except for credit for their images. Images that are submitted but not used in the calendar are not returned but any subsequent use will require similar approval.

Photo submissions that do not adhere to the above requirements will not be considered as part of the selection process.

The post 2026 Calendar Photos Now Being Accepted! appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

In Memory of Tim “Shellback” Smith

Katharina Root — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 00:11:14 +0000

We have just learned that Timothy L. Smith passed away March 24th, 2021. Tim has been a faithful volunteer both in the field and also here in the office for over 25 years years. Tim has been a chronicler extraordinaire. He attended and chronicled almost every work session up until the Covid shutdown. Beyond that, he came to the office and organized all of the Chronicle Books by Railroad Asset and created an index which can be used to find anything you are looking for in 2 minutes or less! Once that was complete, he volunteered to caption the photos in the Photo Gallery on our previous site. Then, he took on the task of cataloguing all of the Calendar Photos that have been submitted to us over the years. He has been trying to figure out how to digitize all of the Chronicle and Team Leader Reports and make them accessible. We so appreciated his joyful attitude every week when he came to the office. He was a delight to have around and will be missed dearly. He was known in the office as “Shellback” as a tribute to his Navy Corpsman days and his crossing the equator.

The post In Memory of Tim “Shellback” Smith appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Ted Norcross Passed Away

cumbres777 — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 19:08:00 +0000

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Ted Norcross, a 30-year devoted Friends volunteer and an outstanding leader. His team is known as The Square Nail Gang; a name given the team as everything they worked on was put together with square nails. For more than two decades Ted (AKA the Slave Driver) and his team were responsible for many outstanding accomplishments in the reconstruction and restoration of the section town at Osier. These historic structures and reconstructions are now enjoyed by all who ride the rails.

You always know when Ted was on the job. You would see his pipe and coffee cup and know he was not far away. He would often misplace his coffee cup but never worried about it being taken as he never washed the cup as it “made the coffee taste funny”. The last projects that Ted was involved with was the structural roof replacement on the Lava Pump house in 2019. He will truly be missed, especially by those who have had the pleasure of working with him.

Obituary of Ted McKillip Norcross

The post Ted Norcross Passed Away appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.

Glenn Hall Obituary

cumbres777 — Thu, 17 Sep 2020 18:07:00 +0000

It is with regret that that we announce the passing of Glenn Hall a long time Friends member and one of the original COS Work Site founders. Glenn chronicled from start to finish the restoration of Pile Driver OB and spent 9 years on the current restoration of sleeper Car 470 (MOW 0252). His engineering skills were called upon many times, one of the most important was the design of the six-segment gear that OB’s platform rotates on. During the 90’s Glenn provided chronicling in Chama at work sessions and assisted in conversion of several hundred 35mm project slides taken over the years to digital storage for archival.

Glenn will be truly missed and those who had the pleasure of working with him will have a treasure of memories.

His wife, Carla, has asked that in leiu of flower, donations be sent to the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railraod, Inc. to support Work Session activities.

His obituary can be found by following this link: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/colorado-springs-co/glenn-hall-9358498

The post Glenn Hall Obituary appeared first on Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad.