Day 11 (D&SNG)

Day 11
July 2, 2006
Train ride (UP!) to Silverton

In one word, “awesome!”

Imagine a 19th-century narrow gage steam engine pulling 11 rail passenger cars full of excited tourists and climbing 2,800 feet in 50 miles through the most beautiful surroundings you’ve ever seen and you get an idea of what the ride on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad was like for us today. This is the most popular steam train excursion in the United States. Last year more than 180,000 people rode the four daily trains. And after riding it, the reasons are obvious to us.

We chose an open car (had a roof but no sides above waist level) in the rear of the train. The ride began on time at 9:45 AM when we pulled out of Durango bound for Silverton. The pace varied between 5 and 15 MPH. The first hour was sort of flat and uneventful as we headed north out of town, paralleling the Animas River and U.S. Route 550. At about the 1 hour mark, the climb began. We learned that the Durango to Silverton line is uphill going north to Silverton every inch of the way except for one 400 foot long section. Built in only 9 months in the 1880s, primarily to haul silver ore from the mines in and around Silverton, it was set on narrow gauge rails to save blasting work. The grade varies between 2.5% and 4+%, which is steep by any standards for railroad tracks. The side clearances are zero in places. Please keep in mind that we struggled to drive over the passes from Silverton to Durango a few days ago, so the concept of propelling a train over them (steel wheels on steel rails, mind you) was hard for us to get our thoughts around. We started at 6,500 feet and climbed to 9,300 feet! In a train! Powered by coal!

The only way they could route a train though such formidable county was to follow the Animas River most of the way. This meant they had to blast away rock from the canyon walls alongside the river for miles to create a right-of-way. In places the train’s ascent had to be more constant than that of the river, so the tracks were built as much as 400 feet above the water. Some of the curves were so pronounced that it was hard to believe we were part of the train we were watching ahead of us! We are sure the line would not be built today because of environmental concerns, but since it was built years ago, it is now considered a national treasure.

Once the ascent began in earnest, the volume of black coal smoke and steam that pumped out of the smokestack coupled with the deep, metallic, scraping thud, thud, thud of the steam pistons was incredible to watch and listen to.

We were told to wear protective eye glasses because of all of the cinders that come out of the smokestack and blow back on the cars behind it. In spite of a lot of cinders and soot, we were surprised to learn that the trains that traveled to Silverton today set 3 fires along the tracks. Fires are so common in the parched forests along this railroad that each train is followed by a fire fighting brigade that looks for and extinguishes any fires that the trains have caused.

It took 3.5 hours to go 50 miles. We had to stop twice on the way up and once on the way down to take on water for the boiler. The fireman shoveled 5 tons of coal into the firebox during the round trip. That’s 10,000 pounds—more than the weight of two heavy automobiles. Golly!

The real appeal of the trip, however, was the scenery. The Animas River valley between Silverton and Durango is just about the most beautiful place on earth. Picture a fast-moving, 50-foot-wide, not-so-deep, aqua river with ample rocks midstream, flowing through a forest of imposing conifers interspersed in places with white-trunked, light-green-leaved aspens growing on the sides of mountains that rise as much as 5,000 feet above the river. Now add one pair of parallel tracks that snake their way first on one bank and then the other alongside that river and through that forest. Now add an unhealthy dose of the blackest coal smoke you can imagine—enough smoke that at times in hangs in the air with a thick pall and dirties everything on board the train in short order. Add the throaty timbre of a steam train whistle that is altogether different than that of a modern diesel engine and you’ve got it. Is there any wonder why tickets to ride it are sold out months in advance?

We arrived in Silverton at 1:15 and were told to be back on board by 3:20. Silverton is the type of place that you can tell with a quick glance is covered most of the time in snow. It has a wonderful rugged and historic look to it. Most of its streets are excessively wide and gravel. It’s almost flat in spite of being completely surrounded on all sides by some of the tallest mountains in the United States. In fact, we learned today that of Colorado’s 54 mountains that are 14,000 feet or more high, 11 of them can be seen from Silverton. We used our time there to eat lunch at a very popular restaurant named Handlebars (as in mustaches) and shop in the towns many touristy gift shops.

The trip back down the canyon was highlighted by lower angle sunlight which made for better photo opportunities. It seemed that Frank couldn’t take a bad picture with his new, replacement camera. Indeed, anywhere one looked was a photo-worthy view.

We met some delightful people on the train, and given the 7 hours that we rode together, we had a chance to converse on a number of topics including where we have lived and might like to live someday, where we are headed on our present voyages, our occupations and myriad current issues. After exchanging email addresses with several of the other passengers, we retuned to the campground, swam in the heated pool and took much-needed showers before eating a simple and late dinner outside under the stars.

Today we were really on vacation.