Photo by Mike McBey, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
DURANGO, CO
4.8· 7,594 Google reviews
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About Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs a 3 ft (914 mm) heritage line over 45.2 miles (72.7 km) between Durango and Silverton, Colorado, threading the Animas Canyon’s steep granite walls. Vintage steam and diesel locomotives pull historic rolling stock, some dating to the 1880s, while the original 1882 Durango depot remains unchanged.
📍 DURANGO, CO 81301
History
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad traces its origins to July 1881, when the Denver & Rio Grande began grading the final 45‑mile stretch that reached Durango and was completed by spring 1882; the line opened to Silverton in July 1882 and the Durango depot was erected in January 1882. After decades of freight and passenger service, the last east‑bound train left Durango on December 6 1968, and in 1970 the states of New Mexico and Colorado bought 64 miles of adjacent track for the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, while the Chama‑to‑Durango segment was removed by 1971. Facing abandonment, the line was saved when Charles Bradshaw of Florida offered to purchase it in 1979, and the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad sold the 45‑mile right‑of‑way to Bradshaw’s newly formed Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Company on March 25 1981. The railroad suffered a temporary shutdown after the “416 Fire” in June 2018 and again during the COVID‑19 pandemic in 2020, prompting a multi‑million‑dollar conversion program to replace coal‑fired steam with oil‑burning units, a project the company aims to complete by 2023. Today the D&SNG, together with the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, remains one of only two operating remnants of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow‑gauge network.
The Trains
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad runs on a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge line that stretches 45.2 miles (72.7 km) between Durango and Silverton, with winter service extending only to the Cascade Wye. Its roster includes ten narrow‑gauge steam locomotives—eight of which remain operational—and ten narrow‑gauge diesel locomotives, six of which were added after 2020. Rolling stock also features passenger cars and freight equipment dating back to the 1880s.
Nearby
From the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Durango, Colorado, the Galloping Goose Historical Society makes a fitting follow-on stop about 37 mi away.
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