I came to Durango CO to take a train ride. This was something I wanted to do years ago but just never worked out on previous trips. Even looking at the timing a month ago, I wasn’t even sure I could/would come to Colorado, it isn’t unusual for cold and snow this time year. I lucked out! The weather is unseasonably warm right now, 76 in Durango and low 60’s up the mountain, but a warm 60’s. Allot of things are not even opened up, the only train ride is the winter train, which goes up to Cascade Canyon Wye in the San Juan mountains. It was a 2 hour trip up, 1 hour layover for a lunch and 2 hour ride back. After May 15th, they have more trips, like one to Silverton, but that is at 9300 feet, so that’s why they don’t run it during the off season. Great day for this though. The train runs along the Animas River.
The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a heritage railroad. The railroad originally opened in 1882 and today is the oldest steam locomotive still in daily operation. The town of Silverton was created by the railroad in 1947 as a tourist destination and it stuck. The popularity of the train just increased in the 50’s as Hollywood started to use the railroad in many westerns, actually some you might remember, How the West was Won, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and Durango Kid. Anyway, was a a nice ride, really enjoyed. The train itself is a 100 years old, the car I was in was from 1882. The old part of Durango is lovely. They had a museum at the train station, it is more a museum of stuff than just about trains, but nice. I posted some videos also to give a better perspective.
