The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

The train of choice for many Western films is the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad headquartered in Chama. With a breathtaking terrain forming a backdrop - the 10,000-foot Cumbres Pass of alpine conifers and aspens, mountain streams and spreading meadows that gradually transform into open prairie land on the Colorado side of the tracks - the railroad's six steam-powered locomotives makes for an instant romantic screen presence, with the great power, beauty and determined grace that is touted by such engines. The versatility of the scenery with the magic of movie set dressing, has enabled production companies to shoot l870s Westerns up to present-day stories meant to take place in Texas or Mexico or other parts of the country.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade remodeled the engine to look turn of the century rather than 1870s. The train was painted to look like a locomotive that would've pulled a circus train of the era. Extensive modifications of some box cars were also done for the project.

The C&TS RR has national historic site status, which means that no structural changes or improvements to the depot can be made without approval from the State Historic Preservation Office. Some structural improvements are needed to accommodate the dramatic change in the scope of operations that the railroad has undergone - from 10 passengers a day in the early years up to 641 passengers at present.

The railroad was built in 1880 by the Denver & Río Grande Railway, to a gauge of 3 feet between the rails (so-called "narrow gauge"). The Río Grande and successive companies operated the line as a freight and passenger railroad until 1968. At that time a grassroots effort was formed between the states of Colorado and New Mexico to preserve the railroad. This led to the creation of a bi-state authority that eventually drafted federal legislation to purchase the railroad. Then in 1970, New Mexico and Colorado became joint owners of the 64 miles of track between Chama and Antonito, for a purchase price of about a half-million dollars. The bi-state commission overseeing the railroad leases it out to a private company for its operation.

The historic integrity of the depot was a windfall for the producers of Wyatt Earp during its brief filming there in the summer of 1993. The company built a small depot set on the prairie side of the tracks, while night filming took place at the main depot in Chama.

Director Burt Kennedy used the train in 1968 for The Good Guys and the Bad Guys and returned in 1988 to direct Where the Hell's That Gold?!!? in which Willie Nelson plays a desperado on a Mexican Army train.