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America built the railroads and the
railroads built America
Americans Americans of all nationalities
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America’s not just a place America is a
concept there is nothing we can’t
accomplish if we put our mind to it that
we were not afraid to have giant dreams
and that we are not so fearful that we
couldn’t work together and help each
other this railroad captures that
concept that’s why it is important to me
that it survived
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I grew up in Telluride Colorado and as a
little boy I played as most little kids
do around everything that was there one
of the things that was there was the old
railroad which was about to die so I
played in the train yard when the train
came they chased us out regularly about
every 15 minutes and I just wouldn’t
leave was something about it kept
drawing me back and eventually the old
rail rotors put me up in the cab of the
engine and like so many of his things
that happened to you an early childhood
left a strong impression steam engines
are alive they have a soul you can feel
them and they make you feel alive to be
around
years later fell off a ladder broke my
hip was a life-changing event two days
before my 29th birthday and the little
light comes on that comes on for most of
us that are midlife crisis I’d managed
to get mine quite early and it said you
don’t have to be old to be dead so if
there’s something that really grabs you
something you really care about and you
should go do it go do it now and I
managed to get taught by the last of the
old-timers who had done it every day in
their life and they passed it on you
brought them like they random you
service them like this service them you
fix them like they fixed him you rebuild
them like they rebuilt him and you use
all those skills you do it the same way
they did it preserving it by doing it
we do not use modern tools to maintain
this railroad and we teach the old ways
of doing it so that 50 years from now
people can still do it long after we’re
gone not only are we preserving the
trains in the environment in which they
ran but we’re preserving the way in
which that labor was done and passing
that on from generation to generation to
generation that’s a testament to the
traditions that are part of this
railroad in 1869 an amazing revolution
happened and you could suddenly get
across the country in about a week or 10
days a scant eleven years later there
was a railroad here in Chama New Mexico
now the rest of the world has moved on
but here as far as the eye can see in
any direction it is the authentic West
and you are immersed with people who are
living it every day and they they didn’t
come here to do this they do this
because they were here and then once
they started doing it they fell in love
with
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we have people here a young guy here who
is a fifth-generation Railroader his
parents work for the railroad his
grandparents worked for the railroad
their parents worked for the railroad
and their parents worked for the
railroad so we have one family who’s
continuously had somebody working for
this railroad since 1890 the railroad
was built mostly by immigrants who had
come to this country we’re talking first
generation who had moved west to find a
new life they came here speaking a
variety of languages this was hard
physical labor put you in touch with the
environment all the time you’re out
there winter and summer day and night
rain and shine so the ghosts of those
people still inhabit this area
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I’ve had some of those experiences 3040
years ago when I was younger up against
a particularly difficult problem and
things went remarkably well as though
somehow you’d gotten a hand from
somebody who had done it before we all
spend time wondering about where we’ll
be when we’re not where we are and not
only where we’ll be when we retire or
we’ll be for eternity I would imagine
that this is a place that I would like
my spirit to be I sometimes wonder if
the reason I am here is because of the
old railroaders that I met in Telluride
60 plus years ago who helped me out and
started that passion in me
and now because those railroads don’t
exist they’re here and maybe I’ll be
here when I’m not here anymore
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for me this place is Who I am
I suppose for each of us there are
sounds and smells and the feel of the
air that get to your core that tell you
you’re alive that tell you this is how
the world is supposed to feel for me
this is that place the rustling of the
aspen the blooming of the columbines
the thunderstorms and blizzards there
are deer and elk bear and coyotes hawks
and eagles of profusion of wild flowers
to be here and watch the sunrise is
glorious to watch the help and glow in
the sunsets his glorious a zen scott
momaday said the west must be seen to be
believed but it must be believed to be
seen in a place largely made of our
imagination and this is a place where
your imagination can run free
you
you
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