A Winter Ride On The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Written by Kyle

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There’s definitely something a little bit nerdy about my interest in trains. My father was into model railroading and as a kid I was exposed to trains both small and full-size. As an adult, I found myself riding more than a few around the country and enjoying the experience immensely. There’s a massive difference between traveling by train, car, or airplane. Trains have a romance and nostalgia other methods lack; you can picture yourself in a black and white movie traveling across the country, perhaps having a cocktail in the bar car as the scenery passes by and the cars rock and sway. In the case of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, this is amplified even further as it is a narrow gauge track, which is about 27” narrower than standard train tracks, and many of the cars date back to the 1800’s so the atmosphere is quite different from a modern passenger train.

The train runs from Durango, Colorado to Silverton, Colorado, and has been hauling passengers and freight since 1882. From the very beginning the railroad was promoted as a scenic route for passenger service, although the line was constructed primarily to haul gold and silver ores mined from the San Juan Mountains. It is estimated over $300 million in precious metals have been transported over this route.

During the normal season the train runs the full route from Durango to Silverton, allowing you to disembark and explore Silverton and grab lunch and sightsee a little bit before heading back down the valley. We came up at the end of November, when the train is only running a partial route to Cascade Canyon because of snow. It goes about halfway up the valley and allows you to get off the train for an hour while it turns around and then heads back to the station. What’s really unique about this area is the only way you could get there is by train or raft. The Million Dollar highway running between Durango and Silverton more or less parallels this route however the train runs down through the gorgeous canyon along the Animas River, originally named the Rio de Las Animas, translated as the River of Souls.

We were especially lucky as the first real snow of the year started literally as we were pulling out from the train station. By the time we reached Cascade Canyon, big fluffy snowflakes were coming down, and we were able to walk around the canyon, see the river, and warm ourselves by the fire.

The return ride was absolutely gorgeous with the snow blanketing the trees, and from the observation deck at the back of the car we were able to listen to the silence, broken only by the train.

If you’re in Durango, this is a true experience that many people can appreciate and is not to be missed!