In earlier years Chama had been a helper station with engines and crews assigned, but by 1960 Chama was an away from home terminal for all crews.  Trains would typically leave Alamosa and Durango on the same day, meet at Chama, spend the night, and the Durango crew would return the next day.  The Alamosa crews typically spent two nights at Chama, spending a day shuttling cars up the 4 percent grade to Cumbres with "Cumbres turns" that returned to Chama. On the second day the Alamosa crew would take a final cut up the hill, put everything together and head for Alamosa with a long train.  Since in the 1960's two trains per week from Alamosa and Durango were fairly typical, this meant Chama was an active place about six days per week. The seventh day was very quiet.