Durango, Colorado – 2025

Archival Pigment Print

“We know this dramatic stretch of train track in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado as intimately as any stretch of railway in the world. I think I know it better than my train journey in the UK between London and our home in Devon. Over the years this familiarity has allowed us to fully commit to our craft.

Nothing is possible without the support of the owners of the steam train and the narrow-gauge railroad; the management and then the train drivers themselves. It is a team effort and each year the level of mutual trust has circled upwards and allowed us to push boundaries creatively. We choose to film here in the winter, as low temperatures help with the breadth of visuals.

When the pressured steam is trapped between the engine and the towering escarpment, it can only escape upwards and climb the cliff face. At 7000 ft in the winter, the steam will then fall back to earth as sleet or snow. There is then the possibility that at this most dramatic of settings, the train is just a bit part in a chaotic and otherworldly scene of ice, snow, steam and smoke. We have learnt how to momentarily create a little bit of hell high up in this formidable canyon and who better to bring into this narrative than a couple of uncompromising train robbers.

Our particular thanks to Al Harper, Jeff Johnson and Russell Heerdt of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.”