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The Durango & Silverton Railroad 7/4/2016

Robin Bowers and I left the hotel, drove to Durango and paid only $10 cash to park. I went and picked up our tickets.

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 miles of track between Durango and Silverton in Colorado. The railway is a federally-designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.

The route was originally opened in 1882 by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad to transport silver and gold ore mined from the San Juan Mountains and was an extension of the line from Antonito to Durango. The last train to operate into Durango from the east was on December 6, 1968. The states of New Mexico and Colorado purchased 64 miles between Antonito and Chama, New Mexico in 1970 and operates today as the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. Trackage between Chama and Durango was removed by 1971.

The line from Durango to Silverton has run continuously since 1881, although it is now a tourist and heritage line hauling passengers and is one of the few places in America which has seen continuous use of steam locomotives. In March 1981, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad sold the line and the D&SNG was formed. Today, the D&SNG, along with the C&TSRR, are the only two remaining parts of the former D&RGW narrow-gauge network. The railroad has a total of nine narrow-gauge steam locomotives.

Some rolling stock dates back to the 1880s. Trains operate from Durango to the Cascade Wye in the winter months and Durango to Silverton during the summer months. The Durango depot was built in January 1882 and has been preserved in its original form.

After World War II, domestic tourism began to grow across the country and the Silverton branch of the railroad would benefit. Bolstered by national exposure via Hollywood movies being filmed along the line in the late 1940s, the railroad created The Silverton, a summer-only train service on June 24, 1947. A short time later, the railroad adorned a locomotive and four coaches with a colourful yellow paint scheme and launched modest public promotion. With this effort, "The Painted Train" officially started a new era of tourism that continues to this day. Freight traffic, however, continued to decline and during the 1950s, The Silverton operated as a mixed train.

By the 1960s, a modernized D&RGW did not see the Silverton Branch as worthy to maintain and a petition was filed with governmental agencies to abandon the route. The Interstate Commerce Commission declined to grant the request due to the continued increase in tourist patronage. Following the ICC's ruling, the railroad reluctantly responded by investing in additional rolling stock, track maintenance and improvements to the Durango depot. The railroad purchased some of the property around the depot, cleaned up the block extending north to Sixth Street, and facilitated the opening of gift shops and other tourist-friendly businesses. As ridership continued to grow, the D&RGW operated a second train to Silverton on certain days.

Since 1971, the Silverton branch and nearby Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad were the only remnants of the Rio Grande's once extensive narrow-gauge system. During the late 1970s, the D&RGW was actively trying to sell the Silverton branch, and in 1979, Charles Bradshaw, a Florida citrus grower, offered the railroad a legitimate opportunity to divest itself of the now isolated route. On October 5, 1980, The Silverton made its last run under D&RGW ownership and after operating a work train the following day, the railroad finally concluded its narrow-gauge train operations, bringing to a close an era that began 110 years earlier with its narrow-gauge railroad from Denver to Colorado Springs.

In June 2018, the railroad shut down for several weeks due to a wildfire, named the "416 Fire", which was fought by two air tankers, six helicopters and some 400 firefighters on the ground. An estimated 54,129 acres of the San Juan National Forest were burned, with losses estimated at more than $31 million. Given the fire risk from coal cinder-sparked wildfires, the railroad's owner plans to invest several million dollars to replace coal-power with oil-power for their steam locomotives and acquire two new diesel powered locomotives.

The D&SNG was founded by Charles Bradshaw Jr., of Florida, with the intent of purchasing the right-of-way and equipment while expanding the infrastructure and passenger revenue. His plans were fulfilled with the March 25, 1981, acquisition of the D&RGW's 45-mile Silverton branch and all of its structures and rolling stock.

The improvements to the railroad in the 1980s would prove to be the most dramatic growth on the Silverton Branch since the earlier part of the century. Bolstered by the assistance of former Rio Grande operating managers and a relatively sizeable staff of new employees, Bradshaw's plans were set in motion immediately. Included in the sale were former D&RGW locomotives and rolling stock that had not seen service in Durango for many years. "K-36" and "K-37" class locomotives were eventually restored to operating condition and these larger class of engines operated to Silverton for the first time ever following bridge and right-of-way improvements to the line. 1880s vintage coaches were exquisitely restored and new coaches were added to the roster of rolling stock. For the first time in many years, doubleheaded trains and additional scheduled trains were employed to handle the continually growing passenger trade.

The Durango yard facilities also saw dramatic improvements. An extension was added to the old roundhouse, a new car shop was built on the site of the original "car barn", and the depot saw extensive repair and internal modifications. The workforce grew with the railroad, and Durango's tourist image expanded as new businesses and revamping of the old railroad town continued to take shape. The original 1881 Durango roundhouse was completely destroyed by fire in the winter of 1989 and all six operable locomotives had been inside at the time and were damaged, but not beyond repair. All locomotives were eventually restored to operating condition. A new roundhouse was constructed on the same site, opening in early 1990, and its facade made use of bricks salvaged from the original building.

In March 1997, Bradshaw sold the D&SNG to First American Railways, Inc. then in July 1998, the railroad was sold again to American Heritage Railways.

On the way to McDonald's, our engine reversed onto the train. We went and had breakfast but they took too long to bring it to us and I finally found the girl who brought our meal very quickly since we were taking the train, after which we walked back to the station.

Our train is ready for boarding. We had engine 481, coach 213 "Bitter Root Mountain", coach 336 "Rockwood", coach 333 "Tacoma", covered open air car 414, concession 126, coach 227 "Durango", covered open air car 416, coach 631 "Tall Timber", coach 632 "Tall Timber Legacy", "Knight Sky" 314 and parlor 152 "Cincos Animas".

Our train departed Durango at 8:00 AM and we were off to Silverton.

We made our way out of downtown Durango.

We follow this bike path that was here on my last visit and the condominiums have grown. Durango has certainly grown from my last visit here in 2008.

Now out of town, the Animas River.

Our train took a curve.

The wye near Durango.

Not a cloud in the sky on this morning.

Other people found our photo spot from yesterday.

A waterfall on Missionary Hill.

The Animas River.

Our train took another curve.

The Hermosa water tower.

The train crossed Fall Creek.

We climbed the grade towards the US 550 bridge. I called Elizabeth so she could hear the train climbing to Rockwood.

The train stopped for passengers at Rockwood. After we went through the Rockwood Cut, we entered the most spectacular section of this railroad, the High Line high above the Animas River. Sit back and enjoy the pictures.

Our journey over the High Line.

Our train on a curve.

The train is getting ready to cross the trestle over the Animas River.

Crossing the Animas River.

The Animas River.

The train and the Animas River.

The beautiful Animas River.

Our train and the Animas River.

The Animas River.

The train and the Animas River.

The Animas River as we ran north towards Silverton.

The train and the Animas River.

The Animas River.

Beautiful mountain peaks can be seen from the Silverton train.

Both ends of the train in these views.

What a view!

The train and the Animas River.

The train came to the restored Needleton Water Tank. We stopped to take water here from a former tank car.

The train and the Animas River.

The Animas River.

Another mountain peak as we looked up that canyon.

The train and the Animas River.

It doesn't get any better than this!

Or this!

Robin Bowers enjoying his first ride aboard the Silverton.

What a unique and beautiful view of this mountain peak!

The train and the Animas River.

It amazes me how much beauty there is in this great state of Colorado.

Garfield Mountain.

Both ends of our train in the Animas River Canyon.

Kayakers enjoying the Animas River.

The train and the Animas River.

Incredible views can be had from the Silverton train.

The train and the Animas River.

The ever-changing Animas River.

The train and the Animas River as we are nearing our destination of Silverton.

The train is crossing the Animas River for the final time on our trip north.

The Detroit Mine.

The Silverton station.

The train takes the final curve into Silverton.

Up this street to where the northbound trip will end. Robin and I had now arrived in Silverton where we detrained and walked to the front of the train.

Our train at rest at Silverton. We would now explore the town.

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