Here’s hoping that all my friends and readers out there had a wonderful holiday. I hope that Santa Claus was kind to you, and that neither Krampus nor Nackles turned up at your door with a big black bag.
We had a good Christmas here in Santa Fe.
One of the highlights was our annual Fevre River Packet Company holiday dinner.
The merry minions are, L to R, Lenore, Elias, Sid, Raya, and Andrea. (Amy and Sarah were unable to make it).
I’m Gru, of course.
Current Mood: 
happy
Just wanted to share the new promotional trailer we put together for Santa Fe’s SKY Railway.
Tickets are on sale now on the Sky website. Sunlight Serenade train, Santa and Pablito, Exodus Express, Murder on the Lamy Line… and many more to come in the new year.
Current Mood: 
cheerful
On December 3, right here in New Mexico, we will be opening the Sky between Santa Fe and Lamy.
Sky Railway, to be precise.
That’s the new name of the old Santa Fe Southern, the historic short-haul railroad originally build by the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe back in the nineteenth century. Largely moribund since 2012, the railway was acquired in 2020 by a group that included me, Bill Banowsky (founder of Magnolia Films and Violet Crown Cinemas), bestselling mystery author Douglas Preston, and five other prominent Santa Feans (Margaritas may have had something to do with our decision). We’ve been busy ever since restoring and refurbishing the cars, repairing the tracks and tressels, replacing old seats, fixing broken windows, even installing a new engine into one of our old locomotives. All of which took longer and cost more than we had originally anticipated… but hey, that’s pretty much always the case.
(I almost titled this post “I’ve been working on the railroad,” but my readers would have taken that the wrong way… and, anyway, it isn’t true. I am one of the owners. Mostly what I have been doing is throwing out ideas and writing checks. Sky’s employees, an energetic and enthusiastic crew, have been doing the work, all those things I mentioned up above and lots more besides. I have not driven a single spike, laid a single rail, reupholstered a seat, crawled under a coach to check the wheels, and I won’t be selling tickets or driving the trains either… though I do reserve the right to blow the whistle now and again. Nor have I been in the kitchen with Dinah. I have working, yes, yes… but not on the railroad. I have been writing WINDS OF WINTER, editing three new Wild Cards books, sitting down with some amazing screenwriters and showrunners to create three hundred and seventeen new GAME OF THRONES successor shows for HBO and HBO Max, and serving as executive producer on various other television and film projects in various stages of development, including DARK WINDS for AMC, JOKERTOWN for Peacock, ROADMARKS and WHO FEARS DEATH for HBO. Oh, and I was the executive producer on our (recently wrapped) short film of Howard Waldrop’s NIGHT OF THE COOTERS. So I have been working. Maybe too bloody hard, but that’s another tale for another blog post… though these days even finding the time to blog is hard).
But I digress. Let us get… ahem… back on track.
Santa Fe is the City Different, and we wanted Sky, the reborn Santa Fe Southern, to be the Railway Different. We had two big old diesel locomotives, so right off we decided we would run two trains: the Wolf and the Dragon. And to paint them, and give each its own character and a look unlike any other train in the country, we hired Santa Fe’s own JORAEL NUMINA, an amazingly gifted muralist and graffiti artist. You can check out Joerael’s own website at https://www.joerael.com/ He’s been climbing all over our trains for the best part of the last year, and we think he’s produced something extraordinary.
Our swanky new paint job is not the only thing that will set Sky Railway apart, however. It’s eighteen miles from Santa Fe to Lamy, a distance that we will cover in, oh, about an hour and a quarter at our blazing speed of fifteen miles an hour. It’s nice ride, and our passengers can just buy a ticket and look out the windows at the passing scenery… pretty much the way it was on the old Santa Fe Southern, and every other tourist railroad in the country, give or take a few. We’re planning to offer more than that, however. We’re planning murder and mayhem on some of our trains, and unless Hercule Poirot buys a ticket, the passengers will have to solve the mysteries themselves. Some of our trains may well be robbed; there are gangs of outlaws down by Lamy. Expect ghosts and zombies next Halloween, and maybe even a hanging. We will have jazz trains, country music trains, cocktail trains (we will offer our own unique cocktails), costume trains, circus trains…. There may be pirates. There may be gunslingers. There may be… most anything. Especially if Exodus Ensemble is involved. Which they will be. https://www.exodusensemble.com/
Most of that will be coming next year. This year, well, Christmas is on hand, and Sky is building a Christmas Village for the kids down in Lamy. Most of our trains will leave from there, at least through Christmas. There will be hot chocolate and bells. Santa Claus will be on hand, and maybe his friend Pablito the Purple Dragon. The trains start running DECEMBER 3.
To keep track of all we’re doing, check out Sky’s new website at:
And, yes… tickets are now on sale.
Write it down. DECEMBER 3. The Wolf will howl. The Dragon will roar.
Ride the Sky. Santa Fe’s adventure train.
Current Mood: 
accomplished
The Santa Fe Southern, that is!
The defunct railroad we bought had only one working locomotive, number 7. So one of our first orders of business was to get old number 93 rolling again. She needed a new engine.
Thanks to John Howell and Daniel Dornbach and their crack team of railroaders, that’s now DONE.
Current Mood: 
excited
New Mexico truly is the Land of Enchantment. And fall is my favorite time of year here.
(No, not because Winter Is Coming).
Our autumns are gloriously golden. We don’t get the reds and oranges they have up in New England, but the aspens and cottonwoods all turn gold. It does not last long, but then again, all beauty is fleeting. Seeing entire forests and mountainsides glowing in gold always lifts my heart.
(And these days, with the world the way it is, my heart is often in need of lifting).
Current Mood: 
contemplative
So, about our new train set…
The pandemic has slowed things down, needless to say, but my partners and I are moving ahead with our plans to restore the historic Santa Fe Southern Railway. There’s a lot of work ahead, and no sure way of knowing whether how long it will all take before we are ready to roll… but at the end, we hope to have something truly unique, a railroad different for the city different.
I thought you guys might enjoy a little peak into the history of the line, and some of our plans for the future.
I think Bill Banowsky speaks for all of us involved in this project when he talks about giving back to the community. These days I belong to two communities: the world of science fiction, fantasy, and fandom, and the city of Santa Fe and the state of New Mexico. I love them both, and do what I can to contribute to them both… paying it forward.
It is our hope the our reborn railroad will be a real boost for Santa Fe and Lamy, preserving a wonderful piece of history while creating jobs, promoting tourism, and providing some fun for children of all ages.
Wish us luck.
Current Mood: excited
Just moved a locomotive and a couple cars from down Lamy way to Santa Fe, behind the Jean Cocteau.
Still a lot to do before we will be able to reopen the railroad. Track and trestle work, for starts. Refurbishing the cars. Lots more.
We may also be looking to change the name of the line. When people hear “Santa Fe” in connection with trains, they think of the old Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe — which is now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and owned by Warren Buffet. And “Santa Fe Southern” was an odd name in any case, since Santa Fe is definitely in northern New Mexico.
What the new name might be, I have no idea. I only know that we won’t invite the public to vote. My partners and I do not want to end up owning a railroad named Trainy McTrainface.
Current Mood: 
pleased
Coming to Santa Fe’s world famous opera house on September 30:
Tickets are still available… but they don’t be for long.
See you there!
Current Mood: excited
Yes, worldcon belongs on Labor Day weekend, dammit, just as I said below.
But there is one cool thing about being home on Labor Day. That’s the weekend that Santa Fe celebrates its annual Fiesta, and the burning of Zozobra.
Old Man Gloom went up on Friday, for the 93rd year. Forget your Burning Man! Santa Fe is the original. (Okay, Zozobra doesn’t have an Orgy Dome. Score one for Reno).
Next year, forget the desert, come to Santa Fe for Fiesta. You can watch Zozobra burn, eat some green chile, catch a movie at the Jean Cocteau, and see Meow Wolf.
And we have water!
Current Mood: 
weird
We had a great time last week when H.P. Lovecraft returned from the grave to visit us here in the Land of Yig Enchantment.
If you missed it — shame on you — well, it turns out that HPL recorded a couple of segments of his “Ask Lovecraft” YouTube series while he was here in town.
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Seeing HPL at Meow Wolf was especially fun, since there are a couple of… ahem… decidedly Lovecraftian touches to be found in the House of Eternal Return.
If you ever get a chance to see Leeman Kessler perform as HPL, do catch him. It’s the next best thing to a shuggoth on your doorstep.
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