Last Update: 8/6/1998 - Jens Moller

How to get there

A bit of history

The mining has dropped way off since the late 1950s, and Durango has become more of a social center, along with Fort Lewis College, it has a large population of young citizens. Durango is also quite a nice area for retirees too. I've always been fascinated by mining, not so much as to want to quit my job as a Database applications developer, but because of the people who survived and prospered in the wilds of the mountains. I enjoy seeing the relics of the age, and when they still function as they were originally designed, its like journeying back in time and reliving the past. For those of us who have never spent 10 hours a day working in a dark and dangerous mine, we can only try to enjoy what is left of the past.

Fortunately for us, the Durango to Silverton train line is intact. Its also well maintained and open to ride thru the summer and around half way to Silverton in the early winter. When ever a Steam locomotive pulls up, people gather to watch. There is something hypnotic about these engines. Diesel trains may be more efficient - but they are not exciting to watch. There is power and danger in steam -I guess this is what draws us to the Iron Horse. The other part of the equation is the travel. While a short 30 minute jaunt along tracks is nice, you cannot begin to feel the era unless you spend a few hours on the track, looking out the window and watching the terrain and locomotive ahead of you; leading the way.

If you decide to visit Durango for more than one day, take the time to see the train yards. To me, a lover of mechanical and electronic gizmos, this was quite a treat. The tours run twice a day and takes around 1 1/2 hours. I must warn you that the parking meters near the train station limit you to 2 hours parking - you can avoid paying 25 cents per hour by simply driving your car up a street or 2 and park for free. The operation of this narrow gauge train is not taken for granted - its constantly maintained and the massive macines and presses needed to work on the wheels were quite impressive.

Behind the train depot awaits your locomotive. The engines are lit all the time keeping them warmed up. They never fully shut down except for maintainance.

The trip itself was quite enjoyable. On the first leg of the trip you'll pass thru Durango and slowly up the valley. The valley becomes very narrow a few miles outside of Durango, and you'll find that the railroad bed was carefully blasted out of shear cliffs to make way for the train. There are tight turns and narrow cuts thru the rock that the train goes thru. Early in the morning, the scene may be spectacular, but the shadows make it difficult to photograph - its a good 800 feet straight down in places, and my flash unit wouldn't accomplish much. In the summer, there is a later train - closer to noon - if you want to capture this gorge properly (you'll want to sit on the right hand side of the train to capture these photos on the way up to Silverton - by right hand, I mean that if you are standing behind the Locomotive looking forward, to your right). The train will cross a few bridges along the way and the valley will become quite narrow on either side of you. So narrow, that you can't really take a picture that captures just how much mountain is all around you. As you get nearer Silverton, you'll see where massive avalanches rolled down the mountains, burying the track in 40 to 80 feet of snow, ice, large rocks and tree trunks. Its amazing that this train was able to keep running as frequently in the winter as at did. It no longer needs to, and that is thankful - it lets the people who run the Railroad keep the costs reasonable and the trains/running gear well maintained.

The vaction I took was a single night stay over in Durango. It cost around $55.00 in October 1997 for 2 people in the motel room. There are quite a few places to stay in Durango, however, the best prices appear to be at the motels that are towards where 550 (Million Dollar Highway) starts heading up into the mountains to go to Silverton (but still in Durango). Durango is not a large city, so this is not that far out of the way.

The number is (970) 247-2733 to make your train reservations. They run a number of trains during the day in the summer, but after labor day, they eventually work their way down to a single train per day. They shut down at the end of October, then start up a Winter train that runs 1/2 way to Silverton and back again (if you saw the place where the avalanches run in the winter, you would understand this completely - I tried to photograph these areas from the train, but it was impossible to capture the scale of the surrounding mountains - even with a wide angle lens).

If you park near the McDonalds (outside of the train yard), it costs another $7.00 to leave your car there, however, if you drive to the train depot and make a left (you have no choice, the road only goes that way), and head up the slight hill past the parking meters you'll find free parking only 3 short blocks away - this is what I did.

This web page has the schedule:

http://www.creativelinks.com/events/trnsch.htm

from Jan 1998. It suggests that you make reservations 4 to 6 weeks in advance & I agree - call now to find out about availability. This is popular, anytime in the year. The canyons won't photograph well in the early mornings (because of the depths and angle of sun), so I reccomend the 2nd train of the day rather than the first if you came to take pictures.

Downtown Silverton

As you come into Silverton, you step back in time into a city that has managed to maintain a feel of the past. Silverton never had any of the devastating fires that most mining towns had, so the character of the 1880s is still around you. During the summer, the city is very busy when the trains arrive. In the winter, there are between 100 and 300 people around and about - for the most part, the only people living in San Juan county Colorado live in Silverton. Today, Its mostly tourist shops, with quite a bit of local and Indian crafts on display. You'll have a few hours to putter around - the altitude is over 9,000 feet; don't do anything strenuous! You'll see the remains of old mines along the mountain sides and there may even be time for a quick tour of a mine close to Silverton (check the travel brochures in Durango to learn more). You'll be stopping for lunch or a snack in town, so if you want to eat, scout these places out first. Food places fill up fast - so try to find a place to eat first, then do your shopping.

The trip back could either be a return trip on the train, or by Bus over highway 550 (the Million Dollar Highway). Either way is scenic. I took the train back. It is around 3 hours and 15 minutes for the 45 mile trip each way. The train doesn't move that fast, and the sounds aboard the coaches are quite different coming down from Silverton back to Durango than they were coming up. Personally, I was quite tired on the way back from all the visiting in Silverton. I think that the Bus Ride may have been a better choice for me.

If you are staying in town for the night, there are lots of pricy places to eat in town, however, the road that heads down to route 160 has a number of less expensive, and quite nice places to eat and shop. This is near the 'Mall' which has a Sear and Kmart just outside of the town area.

Comments? Questions? contact Jens Moller

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