Iron Memory Photography

06/19/2026

Through the Rain

Sometimes photography isn’t about perfect weather, perfect light, or even perfect conditions. Sometimes it’s simply about being present when something beautiful happens.

Standing alongside fellow photographers in a light mountain rain, I watched Knott’s Berry Farm’s legendary No. 340 emerge from the narrow rock cut. Through a long lens, the world seemed to compress around her—stone walls closing in, steam drifting into the pines above, and that bright headlight cutting through the damp afternoon.

For a few moments, nobody cared about the rain. Nobody cared about wet gear or muddy boots. We were all focused on the same thing: witnessing a piece of living history moving through the mountains.

Photographs can capture what something looked like, but every now and then one captures what it felt like. The cool rain, the smell of steam, the anticipation of seeing No. 340 appear between the rocks, and the quiet appreciation shared among people who understand just how special these moments are.

This is why I chase trains. Not just for the locomotives, but for the memories made along the way.
Durango & Silverton Railroad

06/19/2026

Carrying More Than Passengers

Most days, No. 473 carries visitors through the breathtaking canyons and mountain valleys of southwest Colorado. On this rare afternoon run, however, the historic locomotive carried something even more special—a wedding party beginning a new chapter together.

Beneath towering Rocky Mountain clouds and framed by the rugged landscape of the Animas Valley, the century-old steam locomotive rounds the curve as it has for generations. While the passengers celebrated a day they will never forget, No. 473 quietly added another memory to its long and storied history.

Some trains move people. Others carry moments that last a lifetime.

Durango & Silverton Railroad Visit Durango, CO

06/17/2026

Notching Up for the Northbound

NMRX 101 accelerates north out of Belen with an evening load of passengers aboard. Exhaust trails above the locomotive as the Rail Runner Express gathers speed for the trip home. Watching from trackside are my son Adien and our friend Adrian, sharing summer evening beside the rails before the next movement arrives.
Rio Metro RTD Southwest_Railroad_Photography
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06/17/2026

“Echoes of the Warbonnet”

BNSF 141 leads sister unit 140 on the Albuquerque Transfer, a matching-number set with Santa Fe heritage still running through its veins. Though the famous red and silver Warbonnet paint is long gone, the lineage remains. Racing across New Mexico steel at dusk, these locomotives serve as a reminder that every freight train carries a piece of railroad history with it.
Special thanks to Southwest_Railroad_Photography for coming out after work to come meet with us, and showing us around for a min!!
BNSF Railway

06/16/2026

06/14/2026

Winter Sun and Mountain Steel

Under a crisp Colorado sky, No. 482 rolls along the High Line, her exhaust drifting against the canyon wall as she threads through one of the most spectacular stretches of railroad in North America.

Winter sunlight reveals every detail—the weathered steel, the working machinery, and the rugged landscape that has challenged trains for generations.

Moments like this are why people travel from around the world to experience these mountains by rail.

📍 San Juan Mountains, Colorado
Durango & Silverton Railroad Visit Durango, CO

06/14/2026

June 5th 2026 High bridge on the DSNGRR with the Knotts Berry Farm #340. Special thanks to Charlie with Northwoods Productions. Awesome idea that turned out great!! Knott's Berry Farm Durango & Silverton Railroad

06/13/2026

Right of Way

In a moment that lasted less than a second, two worlds met.

As No. 340 rounded the curve through the Pinkerton siding in the rain, a deer burst across the tracks, threading its way through the right-of-way just ahead of the approaching train. The locomotive crew continued their decent while the canyon’s wild resident disappeared into the timber as quickly as it appeared.

For all the planning that goes into railroad photography, sometimes the image finds you. A steam locomotive, a mountain canyon, and a fleeting reminder that the railroad is only a visitor in a landscape that belongs to something much older.

Durango & Silverton Railroad Knott's Berry Farm

06/13/2026

Smoke on the Wind

The crossing is quiet for only a moment.

A deep exhaust rolls skyward as locomotive No. 482 charges across the valley, its plume carried by the morning breeze and stretched across the Colorado sky. Beneath it, steel wheels ring against the rails while the train presses westward, a scene that could have unfolded yesterday—or a century ago.

The locomotive commands attention, but it is the smoke that tells the story. Dark, heavy, and alive with motion, it transforms a simple crossing scene into a reminder of why steam continues to captivate generations long after its working days have passed.

Sometimes the train is the subject.

Sometimes the smoke steals the show.

Durango & Silverton Railroad Visit Colorado