When the “Great Locomotive Swap” was announced in November 2013, I quickly secured spousal approval for one final trip to Narrow Gauge Country before the birth of our son in May.

The Cumbres & Toltec needed to move 489 from Antonito to Chama and 484 from Chama to Antonito. So, in a stroke of genius, they decided to sell tickets! The last Rio Grande train to operate across the entire line was on December 6, 1968, 45 years and 1 day before the scheduled December 7 trip on the C&T. Many excursion have operated in the winter on small portions of the line, but to my knowledge passengers have never been carried across the full route in the winter by the C&T. So, this trip was going to be historic and special. My friend Jon Walden from the Durango & Silverton was even going to drive over to chase before going to work that evening on the D&S Polar Express.

I called John Bush (C&T President & General Manager) and offered to make a DVD of the event since Roger Hogan might not be there. He accepted. Later it turned out that Roger would be there and we agreed to team up. Joe Kanocz and Sam Seiber were also planning to donate footage. My plan called for leaving Friday at 0200 and arriving in Chama around 1600 MT. I was going to meet with Roger to work out the details and then interview John Bush before hitting the rack. The trip was planned for Saturday and I had a ticket to ride from Chama to Osier and back. Roger, Joe, Jon, and I were planning to chase up to Cumbres and board there.

At Osier, John Bush wanted to recognize the date of December 7 with a Pearl Harbor memorial service. The history of where the 2 locomotives (484 & 489) had been that day was to be read (both were on a Cumbres Turn) and I was going to play Taps. This was shaping up to be one of my most fond memories of Narrow Gauge Country.

However, the best laid plans of mice and men… often run afoul of Mother Nature! The weather forecast was ominous on the Wednesday before the trip. The following night I was packed and ready to go. Two weeks of preparation were complete and the truck was packed with everything I could possibly need to travel cross-country in the winter. Throughout that day I got calls, emails, and texts from friends and co-workers asking me if I was still going, concerned about the weather. I assured them that I was.

About 1900 my father-in-law called with news from his cousin in Dallas. In short, it was clear that the northern route along Highway 287 was OUT. No way it could happen. So, we began investigating the southern route: I10 to Highway 285. At first this looked promising, but after a call to my dad (long-distance truck driver), doubt began to set in. Then Winter Storm Warnings were issued for Ozona, Ft Stockton, Pecos, and Carlsbad. About an inch of ice was forecast on the route… dooming the trip. I struggled for a while before conceding defeat. The kicker was the storm forecast on Saturday and Sunday. Even IF I made it to Chama successfully, there was a very real chance that I couldn’t get back. Plus, with a baby on the way, risking my life wasn’t much of an option. Not even for a once-in-a-lifetime trip on the C&T.

As it turns out, the storms were even worse than expected. North Texas was a MESS. Then, about 1400 CT on Friday, the C&T cancelled the trip. Had I gone, I would’ve been about 2 hours south of Santa Fe when the word went out. Needless-to-say, I would’ve been pretty ticked off at having gone that far only to turn around head back. Plus, Chama got about 8 inches of snow Saturday night with near blizzard conditions. I watched it on the webcams and really couldn't imagine being there... much less DRIVING in that mess.

All-in-all, the weekend started out as a major disappointment. But, in the end it was ok. I got to spend some quality free time with my lovely bride, Michele.