Caboose and Engine

August 10, 2012

Last night, we stayed at Twin Lakes Roadhouse, near Leadville. It is a small rustic place, but the owner served some of the best homemade pasta and fresh baked bread for dinner. I really liked the porch, overlooking the lake. Here I am before dinner.

The hummingbirds were my favorite. They were always humming around the porch looking for some nectar.

Our first destination today is the Leadville & Southern Railroad, a diesel excursion that starts at 10,700 feet and travels along the Arkansas river gorge. We rode in super duper deluxe class on the train.

For the first half of the journey, my daddy and I rode in the caboose, as the engine pushed the train up toward the mountain. Here we are before the journey started.

The caboose has two cabs. You have to climb ladders to get into the cabs. The comfy chair and high perch are the perfect way to watch over the train and tracks.

The train makes one 180 degree turn, and you can see the entire train.

Anna, the brakeman, rode with us in the caboose. Because the train was going backwards, Anna radioed the engineer in the engine cab at every mile and every half mile marker. She also blew the train horn at each crossing. The views from the back of the caboose were terrific. Thank you Anna for the great ride.

On the return trip, we rode in the engine with Eric, the engineer. It was so exciting to see all the switches, gauges and equipment in the engine cab.

We got to go outside on the front of the engine while the train was in motion on its journey back to Leadville.

Did I mention that I got to sound the train horn at a road crossing? At each crossing, the train sounds two long blasts, then one short blast and finally a third long blast.  Every train does this at road crossings.

Yes, I got to blow the horn on the Leadville & Southern Railroad. What a treat. Here is a 9 second video.

My daddy also got to blow the horn at the next crossing. Eric the engineer was such a nice host. Thank you Eric.

The engine only uses about 45 gallons of diesel for the two hour ride. The engine was really quiet. Eric used the dynamic brake to slow the train on most of the downhill trip. The engine is the dynamic brake, and we only used the air brakes when we slowed to a stop at the station.