OTTO PERRYS RIO GRANDE ARTICULATEDS

This feature shows the mightiest steam engines on the Denver and Rio Grande system in all their glory. The giant locomotives are shown tackling the steepest grades on the railroad, from the Moffat Tunnel line to Soldier Summit to Tennessee Pass. Drag freights slog up mountains with three articulated engines pushing and pulling. Passenger trains strain to keep up speed among the high Rockies. We see these monsters charging along the "joint line" south of Denver, crossing the desert west of Grand Junction, and diving into the depths of the Royal Gorge. Runaways, landslides, and boiler explosions are covered.

The feature begins with a ride on the daily passenger train over La Veta Pass to Alamosa at the height of the glory days of steam. We ride the train from the sun-drenched Cuchara Valley into a driving blizzard at the top of the pass, and back down into crystal-clear weather at the foot of the breath-taking Blanca Peaks, into an era long gone but not forgotten.