Durango Silverton Railroad

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The Durango Silverton is an isolated portion of the Denver & Rio Grande Western's Original Narrow Gauge Line. This branch was originally built in 1881-1882. The remaining portion of the line runs from Durango, Colorado to Silverton, Colorado. There are no longer any connecting tracks to any of the cities originally served by this railroad. The last connecting train from Alamosa and Durango, the daily deluxe train named the San Juan, was discontinued in 1951.

The line was saved from destruction in 1981 by a Florida citrus grower named Charles Bradshaw. The name of the line was changed to the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. He brought in large steam engines from Alamosa, Colorado and rebuilt them to pull longer trains. Rolling stock was brought back from all over the state and restored to original flawless condition in the Durango Silverton's car shops.

A fire completely destroyed the roundhouse on February 10, 1989. All six of the railroads steam engines were in the building. Falling beams and the extreme heat of the fire did extensive damage to all six engines. The mild Spring weather allowed the machine shop staff to work outside and they had enough of the engines rebuilt and operational for their annual opening on May 5, 1989. The new roundhouse and machine shop were reconstructed and operational just a year after the fire.

The four hour trip from Durango to Silverton and back was one of the most relaxing enjoyable afternoons we ever spent. If you are interested in learning more about this trip, I recommend the following resources.

Doris Osterwold is the author of an interesting book called Cinders & smoke which details the trip mile to mile all the way from Durango to Silverton. The book is available from the Durango & Silverton Store.

The railroad also has contracted production of, and has available for sale, a video called the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. This video is narrated by C. W. McCall, and is an excellent documentary of the railroad and the trip.

Switching in the Durango Yard