Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today, I join Senators Bingaman, Bennet of Colorado, and Udall, in submitting a resolution to recognize the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad on its 40th anniversary this August. Representative Lujan, a member of the New Mexico delegation, is introducing a companion resolution in the house. The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad has been an integral part of the Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado economies since its construction in 1880 as part of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad's San Juan Extension. From its construction until it was abandoned in 1969, the railroad provided a critical passenger and freight link serving communities throughout New Mexico and Colorado. In 1970, recognizing the economic impact abandonment of the line would have on communities served by the railroad and appreciating the railroad's historic significance, New Mexico and Colorado came together to purchase the facilities, locomotives, cars and line between Chama, NM and Antonito, CO. To acknowledge the sheer beauty of the route, they renamed it the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. Since that time the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad has been recognized as a national historic site and, by the American Society of Civil Engineers, as a civil engineering landmark acknowledging the challenging terrain the railroad crosses. Today, the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic railroad continues to be critical to the local communities.…”