Traveling from Kansas City to Flagstaff along the old Santa Fe Trail.
This year I decided to travel by train to visit family in Arizona. I had never gone on a cross-country train trip before so it was a new experience. I arrived at Kansas City's Union Station at about 9 PM - well in advance of my departure, so I got a chance to snap a few pictures. You see the great hall and wating room above. Below are a few of the other attractions available, the diner, Science City, and the Post Office. This station is massive - such a shame it only services a handful trains per day any more.
Here is the platform and some of the outside architecture of Union Station.
I boarded the train, and being night (and going through Kansas) there wasn't much to photograph until we reached Colorado the next morning. It was a beautiful February morning!
La Junta - first chance of the day to get out and stretch your legs and get some fresh air! (In my case, to take a few shots of the outside of the train)
Some of us took the stretching more seriously than others.
Back on the train, time to watch the mountains peak over the horizon and have some coffee. Caution - This coffee may be Delicious!!!
After Trinidad, we head up over the Raton Pass.
Sitting in the lounge car is the way to get the best view! Plus, you can meet some interesting people there too.
The tunnel gets very dark!
The tunnel is also the highest point on the trip.
Raton, NM. Next chance to get out and walk around.
After Raton, we head out towards Las Vegas (yes, there is more than one Las Vegas in the US.) A huge snowstorm just finished passing by. From about here on south to Santa Fe it was very snowy - some places had a foot or more of snow.
Snowy here. You can see there are some pretty snaky sections of track around Santa Fe. It's neat to look out your window and see your train up ahead!
Albuquerque. LOTS of people got on here - practically filled the train to full. Everyone was headed to LA. But since I was busy eating and chatting with folks, and since it was getting dark outside, this was the last photo I took on the way. Stay tuned for more, including the trip back to KC!
