Photograph by Inga Hendrickson.
MIKE BUTLER BREEZES READERS SOUTH from Antonito, Colorado, in Tracking the Chili Line Railroad to Santa Fe (Arcadia, 2020). The narrow-gauge line ran in full from 1887 to 1941, when the tracks were sold for scrap. It created new economies for lumber, wool, and agricultural products, and touched the lives of people like artist Oscar E. Berninghaus, conservationist Aldo Leopold, and freight agent Edith Warner. Butler tucks in tips on how to trace the line today and chugs through a bounty of historical images. “Foamers,” those who foam at the mouth whenever trains are mentioned, will especially love it.