Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec - FriendsOfCumbresToltec.org

This morning finds some fresh snow at Cumbres and a winter weather watch for the area. Could be the first serious snow of the season. Perhaps not affecting the yard or bridge work as much, but we'll see overnight.

A truck/wheel-set sits in the area between the shop and roundhouse tracks. I didn't notice it until this morning, but that was brought out of the swamp yesterday afternoon, likely off one of the cars in there.

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM THIS MORNING TO
5 PM MST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM THIS
MORNING TO 5 PM MST THURSDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER
IN EFFECT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...GENERALLY 4 TO 8 INCHES. LOCALLY A FOOT ON
WEST FACING SLOPES OF THE HIGHEST PEAKS.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE DAY AND EARLY THIS
EVENING AS THE SNOW LEVEL LOWERS...WITH ANOTHER BURST OF SNOW
POSSIBLE EARLY THURSDAY MORNING.

* WINDS...SUSTAINED 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH TODAY
THEN DIMINISHING TO 10 TO 20 MPH TONIGHT AND THURSDAY.

* SNOW LEVELS...INITIALLY NEAR 9000 FEET EARLY THIS MORNING. BY
LATE THIS AFTERNOON OR THIS EVENING...TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE
COLD ENOUGH FOR SNOW AT ALL LOCATIONS.

* LOCAL IMPACTS...HIGHEST ELEVATION ROADS WILL BE FIRST AND MOST
IMPACTED...INCLUDING HIGHWAY 64 IN RIO ARRIBA COUNTY...AS WELL
AS STATE ROAD 134 OVER THE CHUSKA MOUNTAINS. REDUCED
VISIBILITIES CAN BE EXPECTED IN AREAS OF HEAVIER SNOW...AND
LOCALIZED AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW
WILL PRIMARILY CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW
COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES.

A loader is pulled up in front of a tender - clearing out coal ?

Mike Maguire wrote:A loader is pulled up in front of a tender - clearing out coal ?

Yes that's exactly what they are doing, starting with 463's tender. Interesting as last year they moved each tender so the rear (or I guess it's front) was at the road so the loader wouldn't have to move over the tracks as much.

I was in Chama about this time last year. It was a quiet, depressing place. Lots of cold metal laying around. Saw more deer than people in town.

Rio Grande Explorations Trip Report

Here comes the snow to Chama.

Later in the evening as the snow mounts.

Very pretty.