The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad announced in January that it had named Rick Marsden its new executive director effective February 13. Marsden will replace Tim Tennant, who is retiring after 20 years as the leader of the Albuquerque-based non-profit established to support the narrow gauge railroad owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico. 

Marsden has been a group member for over a decade and has previously worked as a photo archivist for the organization. He was also a past vice president of the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society, the group that owns and operates Santa Fe 4-8-4 2926. 

Marsden will oversee the Friends’ office staff and help coordinate the organization’s numerous volunteer activities, most of which are conducted along the railroad. Work ranges from restoring wooden freight cars and structures at sites along the railroad to researching archival photos. Members also served as on-board docents on the railroad’s trains operating near-daily from late spring into late fall. —Justin Franz