June23, Monday and we are off to Silverton, Co. from Durango. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs on a 45 mile extension of track originally called the Silverton Branch. The line was constructed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, headed by General William Jackson Palmer, in 1881-82.
Narrow gauge track in Colorado was laid at a width of 3 feet between rails, instead of the 4 feet-8 1/2 inches of separation with standard gauge rail. Slim-gauge was the choice of William Jackson Palmer for several reasons. It was capable of making sharper curves, and thus more suited to the mountainous terrain found in much of Colorado.
Our journey begins in the Durango Yard at an elevation 6,520 feet above sea level. The first mile out of the station takes you through the heart of Durango's old downtown. As the train heads west the line takes you from Durango's city limits through the beautiful Animas Valley. While the valley is seeing more and more human impact, much of the natural environment remains. As the train climbs up through the mountains we pass through some of the most fantastic scenery including a 470 foot gorge with the Animas River rushing through it. The drop is straight down....beautiful! We continue our climb until we reach the town of Silverton at an elevation of 9,300 feet.
On our way up the mountains the temperature began to drop and the sky clouded over. The rain
began and we even saw some snow in the air. The rain stopped when we got off the train and walked around the small town and found a wonderful place to have lunch.. The Handlebar Saloon. The food was wonderful.
At 2:45pm. we again boarded our train for the ride back down to Durango, arriving back at 6:15pm
It was like a step back in time riding the rail cars. I would do it again. It was a long day but what a wonderful time we had.
Tomorrow a day to rest and then we are heading to Mesa Verde National Park... more about that later.
Until then, take care and keep in touch.
Candy and Johnny