Little Train That Could Not Die

Great legends, like great men, are defined by their ability to endure. One of the greatest stories of triumph over adversity in railroading history is that of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. For hers is not a story of wealth and power, carried on the coat tails of society's upper class, but of sweat and blood, of tears in the eyes of the men who saw the west for what it really was: a place to dream. What began as the vision of General William J. Palmer to give life to the narrow gauge rails of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in Colorado, would become an ideal that spanned 100 years of history, culminating in the birth of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad and the return of the little narrow gauge engine numbered 463. It is a story packed with action, adventure and passion that interweaves with the lives of men like Gene Autry, Bat Masterson and Lucien B. Maxwell. But most of all it is an honest tale of the lives of men who dared to dream big and found success even when the deck was stacked against them. They were train buffs, steam fans, senators and family men. They were men who saw a piece of Americana slipping away and were damned if they were going to let it disappear. Like my dad said, "They were the most over enthusiastic, unbusiness-like fools that ever set foot in shoe leather," but they got the job done and 40 years later, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad is their living monument of hope to future generations.
About the Author: The writing of this book has been a 15 year process with two other publications preceding this one. It took a life changing event and running my own newspaper for more than a year to help me understand what the real story was about. The first publication, "The Story of the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad and Engine 463" was a collaborative effort between my father and me. After his death in 1998, it took another few years before I got the courage to republish it under the title of "The Little Train that Would Not Die". In 2007 that book won a Pinnacle Award, but I knew it wasn't finished. That same year I went through some major life changes and started a weekly newspaper on the eastern plains of Colorado, The High Plains View. As I covered the stories and lives of the people on the windswept prairies of Colorado, I began to understand what the real heart of this story was. The completion of this third publication has been my spirit quest. It has dug deep within my heart, touching every part of my life. Sometimes I have felt such pain and other times immense joy. I felt as though I have lived every moment again. But like the men whose lives I tell about, I had to find the drum beat of my heart. When my first son, Tim, was born, the first book my dad ever gave him was "The Little Engine That Could". I wish I could say that my life was like a fairy tale, where all the dreams come true, but in reality it is everything I need. Sometimes dreams turn to dust, and then when all seems lost, out of those ashes of failure arises something so beautiful. And just as the men found in this story, whether times are good or bad, it is the dreams and hopes that carry us through. Our country has never been perfect, but it was established on that fact that men can dream and within that framework we have the opportunity to grab our destiny and follow our hearts wherever life leads. Today I live in northern New Mexico. At night I watch the sun set on the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as the buffalo graze in a nearby pasture. A lone great horned owl calls mournfully for his mate that was recently killed on the highway and the wild geese call over head. Occasionally, an eagle flies overhead as the sun rises across the clear blue western skies, during those moments I feel the blessing of Mother Earth and Father Sky and I find the peace within the lifetimes. The time of man is not over, like the little train that could not die, it is just beginning.