Sublette is a railroad town in northern

Rio Arriba County Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, United States, built as a section station in 1880. It is located north-east of Chama, just south of the

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

state line and at milepost 306.1 of the former

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

. When the Denver and Rio Grande abandoned its narrow gauge lines in the late 1960s, two parts of the system were preserved independently: the

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, is a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge Heritage railway, heritage railroad that operates on of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United Stat ...

from Antonito to Chama, including Sublette itself, and the

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a fe ...

. Sublette sits at an elevation of 9,281 feet in the southeastern

San Juan Mountains The San Juan Mountains is a high and rugged mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The area is highly mineralized (the Colorado Mineral Belt) and figured in the gold and silver mining industry ...

History

The

Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

established Sublette in 1880 as a construction camp on its

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

San Juan Branch. Once the line was completed, the camp served as a section crew station town, a base for the crew that maintained the track for the railroad. Structures included a section house for the

foreman __NOTOC__ A foreman, forewoman or foreperson is a supervisor, often in a manual trade or industry. Foreman may specifically refer to: *Construction foreman, the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew * Jury foreman, a head j ...

and his family, two bunkhouses for the section crew, a

coal bunker A coal bin, coal store or coal bunker is a storage container for coal awaiting use or transportation. This can be either in domestic, commercial or industrial premises, or on a ship or locomotive tender, or at a coal mine or processing plant. D ...

, a speeder shed and a

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

. The D&RGW operated trains over the branch until 1967, then in 1970 the

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, is a narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United States. The railroad is named for two geogra ...

took over the abandoned track between

Chama, New Mexico Chama is a village in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,022 at the 2010 census. The village is located in the Rocky Mountains about south of the Colorado-New Mexico border. Geography Chama is located at (36.8947 ...

, and

Antonito, Colorado Antonito is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Statutory town, Statutory Town located in Conejos County, Colorado, Conejos County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 647 at the 2020 United States Census. History Antonito began ...

, to operate tourist trains in the summer months. The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec maintain the remaining structures in the interests of

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

. The water tower was dismantled in 1937 and replaced with an underground cistern; C&TSRR trains stop here to take water.

Nearby locations of interest

Osier, Colorado Osier is a populated place in Conejos County, Colorado, USA. It is an old railroad settlement and train stop approximately halfway along the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad where trains from both ends of the line meet and stop for lunch, making ...

* Toltec Gorge, New Mexico

References

*Pearce, T.M. (editor) with Cassidy, Ina Sizer and Pearce, Helen S. (1965) "Sublette (Rio Arriba)" New Mexico Place Names; A Geographical Dictionary University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, page 160

External links

1963 map of the areaPhoto of Sublette stationPreservation work by the Friends of the Cumbres & ToltecOfficial Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Web Site
Geography of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Ghost towns in New Mexico History of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Populated places established in 1880 1880 establishments in New Mexico Territory Former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1880 {{NewMexico-geo-stub