Our train is pulling into the siding at Osier (elevation 9,637).   The downhill train has already arrived and we will pull just past it so we can access the Beanery.  They don’t call it that, but that’s what the railroads had to feed passengers and crews.

We had been pampered all the way up the mountain, aboard the catered extra-fare lounge car, through tunnels, around Whiplash Curve and along the edge of the Toltec Gorge.  The aspens were in their fall splendor, we had been consuming Rocky Mountain fresh air, “we were hungry.”

And the railroad knew it.  The dining hall was specially built, hardly the original depot.  It had the aura of a Swiss ski chalet with class and pizzazz.  We had been asked whether we prefer turkey or barbecue for lunch. Mitch and I selected the turkey, expecting a sandwich and chips.  Yikes, there was a buffet layout to rival Ryan’s or Furr’s. 

Even at this altitude the temperature must have been in the high 70s.  Ample time was given for wandering around the trains for pictures and friendship.   Eventually we pulled out on our venture upward and the downhill train did likewise.  Our train looped around the valley and our vista included the lodge, mountains, valleys and the downhill train disappearing around a bend.  What a neat train ride.

Credits: Text and pix by me. This event was in September 2010, on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR in SW Colorado.