Fire and Reconstruction at Lobato Bridge in New Mexico

historic preservation. resulted in the D&RG abandoning the goal of building south to El Paso and focusing instead on building west to the mining camps of Leadville, Colorado, and the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado.4 In 1879 reconnaissance surveying was conducted, and contracts were let for the construction of the San Juan Extension. By April 1880 service was extended from Alamosa, Colorado, to Antonito, Colorado, and by February 1, 1881, service was extended from Antonito over Cumbres Pass to Chama, New Mexico. Building the section of line between Antonito and Chama was a formidable task that included constructing two large bridges and two tunnels, dealing with grades exceeding four percent, maneuvering across the sides of steep canyons, and crossing Cumbres Pass at an elevation of more than 10,000 feet. The line was completed to Durango, Colorado, by July 1881 and to Silverton, Colorado, in July 1882.5 The two large bridges of the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad are the Cascade Bridge, with a span of more than 400 feet at a height of more than 130 feet, and the Lobato Bridge, with a span of more than 300 feet at a height of more than 100 feet. Originally, both bridges were constructed of wood. Noted nineteenth-century engineer C. Shaler Smith was retained by the D&RG to design both bridges. The earliest date of Smith’s design on surviving drawings for the Lobato Bridge is November 1880, although records indicate the crossing was built in wrought iron in 1883.6 The San Juan Extension between Alamosa and Silverton continued in operation into the mid-1960s. In 1967 the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), successor to the D&RG, applied to the Interstate Com-