Logan Heide’s passion for railroading and rail preservation began close to home. Living in Alamosa, Colo., a town that serves as a terminal for the Colorado Pacific Rio Grande Railroad (formerly the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad) and near the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad in Antonito, Colo., it was a natural fit for the now 25-year-old. He joined the Cumbres & Toltec in 2021, starting in the fire patrol department, following the coal-fired steam excursions to watch for brush fires. Today, Heide is a brakeman during the tourist railroad’s operating season and works on passenger cars during the winter.
How did you get involved in rail preservation?
Logan Heide: As a kid, I always loved trains. My home in Alamosa was about a block away from the [CXRG] railroad tracks. How I got involved with the Cumbres & Toltec actually started back in 2007. I was going to a private school and they took us on a field trip to the C&T in early October of that year. When I rode the train out of Antonito for the first time, I caught the bug pretty good. My Mom even bought me a documentary about the railroad as a Christmas present that year.
From then on, I caught the love of that railroad and thought about joining when I was going through school at the time. Then, the world changed between 2007 and when I graduated high school in 2018. I initially thought I would go to college at the time. Then the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic happened. Through that, being at home, you have a lot of time to think and contemplate about things and life.
I wondered how the railroad was managing through this and thought to myself: “One thing this pandemic has taught me is life is short and I don’t want to waste any more time with ‘maybes.’ I want to go and do something that I think I would enjoy.” So in 2021, I sent an application and they hired me for fire patrol. This is going to be my fifth season with the railroad, and I’m definitely happy that I made that decision.
As a young preservationist, what have you found to be the most challenging aspects in the industry?
Logan Heide: One of the biggest challenges, just with the C&T, is trying to keep everything as historic as possible because this railroad is unique. In the summer, these trains are running six days a week. They’re not this equipment in a museum that we pull out once in a while to run for show. They’re going through deserts, forests, canyons, and, on the Chama side, up and down the 4% grade every day.
So we’re trying to maintain that equipment through all the work we put in while trying to keep it as historic as possible. I actually met on the train a gentleman from England, who is also working on a historic railroad there. He talked about those same challenges and it was like we didn’t miss a beat during our conversation. So, I would say that it’s also an issue across the board.
What’s been the most rewarding for you so far?
Logan Heide: Probably the most rewarding thing, what’s coming up soon, is seeing all the hard work that you put in over the winter: facing those challenges and overcoming them, and seeing those locomotives and cars roll out for the first time. Another thing that’s been rewarding is the people who come to ride the trains you worked so hard on and see the same happiness that I had when I was younger.
Where do you see rail preservation as it is today and what do you hope it’ll become for the future?
Logan Heide: I actually look through rail preservation with hopeful eyes because there have been many big projects, whether that’s Union Pacific No. 4014 or Santa Fe No. 2926. That particular locomotive was a project of 20-plus years to get running just for the labor of love those guys have for it. Even freight and passenger railroads across the country are bringing back paint schemes of their heritage units and recognizing the importance of their history.
What I hope rail preservation will become will be just that. More people are interested and see that this is something worth preserving. That’s what I hope from the passengers who ride our trains that they come away saying, “This is part of our history.”
What advice would you give for any young person looking to get involved in the industry?
Logan Heide: One thing that I would say is don’t be afraid to get involved. Like I said in my story, if it’s something you think you’re passionate about, don’t be afraid to see if you can volunteer anywhere. Our railroad is unique in that we have a huge amount of volunteers through the Friends of the Cumbress & Toltec. If you can find programs like that to get involved with, don’t be afraid to do so.
And don’t be afraid to ask questions. I know from experience working here, there are guys with a lot of passion who work around it and they won’t be afraid to impart that knowledge to you. I started green as this was the first railroading job. But through those people who had the knowledge, and by asking questions, they were good enough to impart that to me and a large part of who I am today is because of those people.
