Nine months after a mysterious fire knocked Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad’s 1883-built Lobato rail trestles out of service, its major rebuild is set to start shortly.

Reiman Construction Company of Cheyenne, Wyoming’s bid of $758, 945 was accepted by the New Mexico Department of Transportation, almost $25,000 below Lobato’s estimated major repair cost.

Reiman’s number handily beat four competing contractors.
Lawrence Construction Company: $1,078,657
Kiewit New Mexico: $1,372,735
Hasse Construction: $1,435,092
A. S. Horner: $1,518,660
Engineer’s Estimate: $783,805

Reiman, a general contractor since 1948 with bridge-building experience, has completed some 2500 projects and is licensed in New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.

The announcement came days earlier than NMDOT’s original approval date of March 10. The bid deadline itself was moved forward from April 15 to February 18, now giving Reiman three months to get C&TS trains running again over Lobato by season-opening Memorial Day weekend.

The project involves replacing the 310-foot bridge’s six fire-warped metal spans and charred narrow gauge track spanning a creek outside, Chama, New Mexico, the usual west terminal of the C&TS, deprived of service since the fire last June.

The barely-surviving small town has seen over a dozen businesses close, with normally-visiting train riders bussed instead to distant Cumbres Pass, where the railroad has temporarily terminated shortened service to mid-route lunch stop Osier and to east end destination Antonito, Colorado.

C&TS management plans to have the structure ready to resume carrying trains on the line’s full 64-miles to and from Chama by Memorial Day. Last year’s Lobato-less trips omitted dramatic, locomotive-straining 4-percent climbs up 10,000-foot Cumbres Pass, resulting in sharp ridership loss.

An emergency, last-minute federal stimulus grant, together with private funds raised by the auxiliary Friends of C&TS, funded the project.

To save time, replacement custom-welded plate girder spans and track materials were pre-ordered. Essential access negotiations with owners of Lobo Lodge, resort land surrounding the Lobato site were part of work preparations.

Lobato repair elements replicating the appearance of the 128-year-old iron bridge has been approved by the New Mexico State Preservation Office.