September 26 The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway
This 3.5 hour train trip on the Durango-Silverton NGRR takes its passengers 50 miles along the Animas River. 
Durango sits at 6700 feet and Silverton at 9200. The river gorge goes through the San Juan National Forest which has its share of 13ers (as they refer to mountains of 13000 feet in elevation). The train is a coal powered steam engine pulling an assortment of old parlor cars, open gondolas for the hearty who don’t mind a little black smoke in their faces, and even a private car. Actually the payoff for the gondola is the chance to get great pictures! Narrow gauge means that the train rocks and rolls from side to side more than other trains, especially since it’s only going about 15 mph.
We made several short stops on the way to Silverton. Two were stops where the train takes on 4000 gallons of water! One was at the power company since this is the ONLY way to get to it. And the last and best was to discharge passengers going mountain biking and soaring. Rose and Peter, soaring is a trip through the canopy of the forest on zip lines. We did this in Mexico and hope to take you to do it when we bring you here camping some day.
Silverton didn’t meet expectations but I am not sure whether that was due to
overly sentimental literature or just my personal optimism. The town began as a silver mining town in the 1880’s but today has a population of 400 in the winter and exists to support the travelers on the train. It reminded us a lot of the towns in Alaska’s inner passage when the cruise ships pulled into port. However, Grumpy’s tavern did serve a delicious Reuben and the soups were excellent.
We opted to return to Durango by bus rather than train because we heard that the trip along the Million Dollar Highway was another scenic drive not to be missed. Although the return trip is but 50 miles by road, it took us one and a half hours to cover that distance, largely because it includes traversing two spectacular 11,000 foot passes before descending into Durango — two passes that the train avoids by simply following the bed of the Animas River from Durango, through the San Juan National Forest, to Silverton.
The driver/tour guide talked non-stop with an entertaining and informative presentation on what we were seeing and other interesting facts related to the area. One of those tidbits was the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic that has been run for the last 37 years. The race is cyclists against the train from Durango to Silverton! The high altitude cycling takes riders along the highway over the same two 11,000 ft passes before descending into Silverton at 9300 ft. Tom Danielson, a local rider still holds the record (2003 I believe) for making the trip in 2 hours 5 minutes. No one has come close since. Tom started 2008 on the Garmin-Chipotle Team but injury has kept his performance from meeting his promise as a rider. Silverton only has two weeks (end of July/beginning of August) without freezing temperatures! The cycle race in 2008 was cancelled because of snow, ice, and the likelihood of hypothermia! Add in the stress of high altitude and you have a race that interests only the most fit.
October seems to be the best month to take this train ride. The aspen are all aglow in yellow amidst the dark green pines. It’s really beautiful; something only the human eye or a professional photographer can do justice. For the record, parlor car seats for a one-way passage by train and a one-way bus return was $92 per person.
Durango sits at 6700 feet and Silverton at 9200. The river gorge goes through the San Juan National Forest which has its share of 13ers (as they refer to mountains of 13000 feet in elevation). The train is a coal powered steam engine pulling an assortment of old parlor cars, open gondolas for the hearty who don’t mind a little black smoke in their faces, and even a private car. Actually the payoff for the gondola is the chance to get great pictures! Narrow gauge means that the train rocks and rolls from side to side more than other trains, especially since it’s only going about 15 mph.
We made several short stops on the way to Silverton. Two were stops where the train takes on 4000 gallons of water! One was at the power company since this is the ONLY way to get to it. And the last and best was to discharge passengers going mountain biking and soaring. Rose and Peter, soaring is a trip through the canopy of the forest on zip lines. We did this in Mexico and hope to take you to do it when we bring you here camping some day.
Silverton didn’t meet expectations but I am not sure whether that was due to
overly sentimental literature or just my personal optimism. The town began as a silver mining town in the 1880’s but today has a population of 400 in the winter and exists to support the travelers on the train. It reminded us a lot of the towns in Alaska’s inner passage when the cruise ships pulled into port. However, Grumpy’s tavern did serve a delicious Reuben and the soups were excellent.
We opted to return to Durango by bus rather than train because we heard that the trip along the Million Dollar Highway was another scenic drive not to be missed. Although the return trip is but 50 miles by road, it took us one and a half hours to cover that distance, largely because it includes traversing two spectacular 11,000 foot passes before descending into Durango — two passes that the train avoids by simply following the bed of the Animas River from Durango, through the San Juan National Forest, to Silverton.
The driver/tour guide talked non-stop with an entertaining and informative presentation on what we were seeing and other interesting facts related to the area. One of those tidbits was the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic that has been run for the last 37 years. The race is cyclists against the train from Durango to Silverton! The high altitude cycling takes riders along the highway over the same two 11,000 ft passes before descending into Silverton at 9300 ft. Tom Danielson, a local rider still holds the record (2003 I believe) for making the trip in 2 hours 5 minutes. No one has come close since. Tom started 2008 on the Garmin-Chipotle Team but injury has kept his performance from meeting his promise as a rider. Silverton only has two weeks (end of July/beginning of August) without freezing temperatures! The cycle race in 2008 was cancelled because of snow, ice, and the likelihood of hypothermia! Add in the stress of high altitude and you have a race that interests only the most fit.
October seems to be the best month to take this train ride. The aspen are all aglow in yellow amidst the dark green pines. It’s really beautiful; something only the human eye or a professional photographer can do justice. For the record, parlor car seats for a one-way passage by train and a one-way bus return was $92 per person.
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