The stage carried travelers from Grafton, Fairview (now Winston), and other local sites to the halfway point at Cuchillo arriving around noon. Mrs. Sanders, hostess at the Cuchillo hotel, served a good meal for 75 cents. Leaving Cuchillo for the railroad depot at Engle there was the slow ride up to the crest of the mountains, and the much faster ride down. The whole trip took from 9 to 12 hours to cover a little more than 50 miles, and there usually were 3 changes of coach involved.
If the Rio Grande happened to be "up" and impossible to ford, the passenger would join others to cross over the raging waters in a flat boat. The boat was towed by a rope or a cable and almost always made it across. Finally, arriving at Engle, one might get a few hours rest at the Engle Hotel while waiting for the midnight train.