Tales of Rails

Durango is perhaps best known for the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Each year thousands of people ride the train to Silverton. The line was built in the 1880s by the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad to serve the silver, gold and lead mines. By the 1950s freight had declined to a trickle and the line faced abandonment but it was already a favorite of railfans. Charles Bradshaw, a citrus grower from Florida, stepped up and bought the railroad. The coal fired narrow gauge locomotives are classics of the steam age. The towering San Juan Mountain scenery of the Animas River canyon is accessed by no other means. Hikers, rafters, skiers and zipline adventurers regularly hitch a ride on the Silverton train. If you ever visit Durango, plan on a day for the train.

D & S locomotive 481 blowing out the cylinders on the high bridge

D & S May 20th

D & S on the high line. Workers were lowered by rope to blast a shelf in the canyon.

Our train in Silverton

400 feet down to the river

the Galloping Goose was an economical solution to providing minimal rail service during the Great Depression.