Cut in halfway back in this long westbound freight, K-36 number 480 bunches the slack as it helps 488 past the yard limits and on toward 10,000 foot Cumbres Pass on a very bitter cold Colorado morning. The steamers still run from this point to Chama, some 64 miles of rail away. The telegraph was originally built exclusively with 127's, and by the 1970's the line was still heavy with blobtops! The date is 12-61. Photo courtesy of John West