DURANGO COLORADO VACATIONS
Durango Silverton Train
You can still taste the Old West and take a 100 year step back in time each moment aboard the Durango Silverton Train.
Operated today it is still operated as a tourist line called the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG).
The D&SNG railroad takes you on an unforgettable ride through the San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado. As you climb over a half mile in elevation, you will see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.
The Durango Silverton Railroad crawls up steep mountain slopes on track that clings to rock cliffs and crosses over shaky wooden bridges.
The Durango train journey begins at the historic depot where you can watch steam locomotives crawl out of the roundhouse in the morning and take a spin on a magnificent turntable.
Once the train is assembled and passengers boarded, the ride begins north along the Animas River canyon to the town of Silverton. Along the way the train travels from low rolling foothills to high mountain passes.
The lower elevations around Durango are semi-arid regions of sand, sage brush and Juniper trees with giant red and tan rock outcroppings here and there. The river valley is green and lush fed by a constant flow of melted snow arriving from the high mountains.
As the train climbs into the deep canyons the scenery begins to change quickly to more rugged rock cliffs with evergreen trees and tall snowcapped peaks looming in the distance. The awesome High Line area is where the track hangs on cliffs 400 feet above the river. This is the beginning of rugged wilderness areas that you can only reach by foot, horseback or train.
The trip continues up the Animas River valley and across an old time bridge at Cascade. Then you pass long forgotten mining camps, claims and other lost enterprises near Needleton and Elk Park.
Nearing the destination the train emerges from the canyon below Silverton into a large bowl valley surrounded by famous 12,000 foot peaks where the old time miners and engineers hooted and hollered from the top of the world.
A real steam locomotive has a heart and soul that you can really feel while on board. Several trains are sent up the line and back each day so there is lots to see. Reservations to ride the train are best made in advance. The hospitality you will enjoy is first class throughout the area.
Many of the historic buildings and track appear the same today as they did 100 years ago. Highway access is easy throughout the San Juans. You can spend a number of days exploring old mining towns, hiking, fishing and all those other things you like about the mountains. If you like to shop, you will see plenty of stores with the local wares.
The National Park Service designated the Silverton Branch of the D&RGW Railroad as a National Historical Landmark in 1967. Furthermore the American Society of Civil Engineers has designated it as a Civil Engineering Landmark.
Experiencing the Durango Silverton Railroad would be nothing today if not for the people who operate and preserve old railroads. Most experts agree that the best way to preserve a steam locomotive is to run it. Employees of the active railroad lines, museums, volunteers and historians all play a part. Even the visitors who ride the Durango train, support the effort through the dollars they spend.