Historical Collections
HISTORICAL PHOTO COLLECTIONS
Our historical photos are comprised of eight (8) separate collections featuring the narrow-gauge railroads of New Mexico and Colorado, with over 30,000 photos. The original photos are in permanent, archival storage, but the digital images are available for viewing and purchasing/downloading. Plus, our searchable database allows you to search each collection for specific photos or photo categories thanks to a group of devoted FRIENDS who have organized, catalogued, reviewed and scanned the original images into a searchable database. You may purchase photos from the collections below directly from http://ngtrainpics.photoshelter.com for $4.95 each. If you are a FRIENDS member, you may purchase the photos for $2.50 each plus shipping by sending us an email with a list of the desired photos to DormanCollection@CumbresToltec.org; we will send the photos on a CD-ROM. If you have questions, please contact Wes Pfarner via the preceding email address or by calling the FRIENDS Office at 505-880-1311. If you have a historical (pre 1970) Colorado or New Mexico narrow gauge railroad photo collection that you would be interested in donating to FRIENDS, please contact Wes Pfarner or Tim Tenant at 505-880-1311 or email DormanCollection@CumbresToltec.org.
BERKSTRESSER COLLECTION
The late George Berkstresser (1928-2014) was a railfan whose 1,073 photographs, mostly from around Alamosa, were taken between the mid-1950s to the late 1970s.
DORMAN
COLLECTION
Richard L. Dorman (1922-2010 ) was a dedicated railroad enthusiast, model railroader and author. His 24,797 photographs are from the 1880's to the present.
GILDERSLEEVE COLLECTION
Thomas Gildersleeve (b. 1937) is an award- winning California photographer, published in many books. He was notably present for several D&RGW winter freights in the 1960s and has taken many other photographs since then of the C&TS and D&SNG railroads.
LOWRANCE COLLECTION
Ed Lowrance (d. 2017) took photos on the D&RGW National Park Service Excursion Train at the time there was a movement for NPS to take over the D&RGW narrow gauge for historical reasons.
PAYNE COLLECTION
Andrus (Andy) M. Payne (1925-2012) was a narrow-gauge engineer who worked out of Durango on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. His 2,270 photographs were taken from 1954 through 1978.
ROBART COLLECTION
The late Ernie Robart (1947-2018) was a dedicated railfan and photographer from Albuquerque. We are currently in the process of cataloging the Western US narrow-gauge railroad images that are part of his 50,000+ railroad photo collection.
SPERRY COLLECTION
Russell Sperry (b. 1941) is a railfan photographer from California who recorded some of the D&RGW narrow gauge operations in the 1960's, including the last freights over Cumbres Pass in August 1968. He has also photographed the C&TS from its early days since 1970.
SPENCE COLLECTION
The photo collection of Gene R. Spence (1947-2011), a model railroader from Albuquerque, consists of 341 photos from the western narrow-gauge lines.
GUTH COLLECTION
The John Guth Photo Collection consists of approximately 1,300 photos of C&TS snow removal from Chama to Cumbres in the spring of the 1900s.
RHINE COLLECTION
The Stan Rhine Photo Collection consists of approximately 5,000 photos of structures and equipment of the narrow-gauge railroads in southwest Colorado and Northern New Mexico.
RUSSELL COLLECTION
The John Russell Photo Collection consists of 83 photos of Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad captured during his visits to Alamosa, CO on three different occasions: August 26, 1958; September 16, 1964; and September 25, 1994, which show the differences in the Alamosa steam locomotive yard over time.
WEST COLLECTION
The John West Photo Collection consists of 228 images of narrow gauge on Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, as well as of the Cumbres Toltec Scenic Railroad narrow gauge.
Library
Our non-circulating library is located at the FRIENDS office in Albuquerque. We have a wealth of information covering the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Denver & Rio Grande Western. To make arrangements to access the library or request documents please email Library@cumbrestoltec.org.
Click here to Access our Library Database
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