We ate at the Box Car Café in Chama, NM as the sun was coming up. John watched the activity of the steam engines while I went back to our room and wrote about pictures I took the day before.
We traveled on that tourist railroad as we’ve never traveled before. Instead of seats as in a school bus, John and I had a table to ourselves.
There was a hostess to bring us drinks (non-alcoholic) and snacks.
We had access to a gondola where we could stand outside to absorb lots of black smoke. You realize, of course, that inhaling that smoke adds tremendously to the train experience. Yes, I’m sure there are some that get high on it, no names mentioned.
The most modern thing about this ride was watching the drone take photos of us. A train buff in a car sent the drone at several spots. I didn’t get a photo of the drone, but I did take one of train buffs watching us. A road came near the railroad in many spots, and there were always cars parked to watch the steam engines. The people jumped out of their cars, snapped photos, and rushed to the next viewing spot.
Our car was toward the end of the train, so we had good views of the engines when there was a curve.
We had lovely views of the mountains, a huge dinner included in the price, and a souvenir travel mug. The real bonus was a lovely day when a nasty one had been predicted.
Mehrling Muse 
What a fascinating story! And I can personally relate since we took a similar train in Arizona called the Verde Canyon Railroad. A great way to see the terrain and history of an area, and to experience the wonder of travelling by rail. Your photos are terrific!
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Thank you! We are going on the Durango/Silverton train today. I’m glad you’ve been on a great train ride, too.
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