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Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

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Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
Overview
HeadquartersDurango, Colorado
LocaleColorado
Dates of operation1881–present
Technical
Track gauge36
Length45 miles
Durango-Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad
The railroad runs along the wall of a gorge
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is located in Colorado
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
LocationDurango, Colorado to Silverton, Colorado
Built1882
ArchitectGen. William J. Palmer
NRHP reference No.66000247
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966[1]

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) is a narrow gauge heritage railroad in the U.S. State of Colorado that operates over the 45 miles (72 km) of 36-inch (914 mm) track between Durango in La Plata County and Silverton in San Juan County. The railway is a federally designated National Historic Landmark and is also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

The trackage was originally built between 1881 and 1882, by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, in order to carry silver and gold ore mined in the San Juan Mountains. The line was an extension of the D&RG narrow gauge from Antonito, Colorado to Durango. The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad operates the line from Antonito to Chama, New Mexico. The line from Chama to Durango has been abandoned and removed. The line from Durango to Silverton, however, has run continuously since 1881, although it is now a tourist and heritage line hauling passengers, and is one of the few places in the United States which has seen continuous use of steam locomotives. In March 1981, the Denver & Rio Grande Western sold the line and the D&SNG was formed.

Some of the rolling stock dates back to the 1880s. The trains run from Durango to the Cascade Wye in the winter months and run from Durango to Silverton during the summer months.

Museums

The facility has two internal museums, the Silverton Freight Museum and the Durango Museum.[3] These Museums house some of the historic locomotives and railway equipment of this narrow gauge line.

The location of the entrance to the museum is through the station where the gift shop is and where you get tickets to the train. The museum however is in the round house where there are actual train cars and engines. There is also a train lay out and displays. The museum is in half of the round house while the operating locomotives are in the other half.


History

The train pulls into Silverton

William Jackson Palmer was a railroad engineer who rose within the Pennsylvania Railroad to be secretary to the president. After he served in the American Civil War as a general, he began dreaming of a north-south Mexico-Colorado railroad, and he built the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. He believed narrow gauge lines were suited to the mountainous areas of Colorado.[4]

On August 5, 1881 the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad arrived in Durango, Colorado. Durango was founded by the D&RG in 1880. Construction to Silverton, Colorado began that fall. Only 11 months later did the D&RG reach Silverton in July 1882. Trains hauling passengers and freight began immediately. By 1885 the population of Silverton had grown to 1100. Additional narrow gauge track was laid out of Silverton in 1887. In 1893, 10 large mines in the Silverton district were forced to close when silver prices dropped from $1.05/oz to $.63/oz. In 1889 a fire in Durango virtually destroyed downtown. In 1902 the first automobile arrived by train.

The railroad was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1961.[2][4]

D&S engines

The D&S operates coal-fired steam engines and diesel engines.

Steam

Technical information

Steam locomotive #482 & #480

The steam-powered locomotives used today on the D&S were built during the 1920s. There are two classes, K-28s and K-36s, which are based on wheel, driver arrangement, and pulling power of the locomotive.

The K represents the nickname "Mikado" that describes a Japanese locomotive design of 2-8-2. Two non-powered, pivoting wheels in front, of eight driving wheels, which are connected to driving rods powered by the engines pistons, and finally two non-powered trailer wheels located under the cab of the locomotive.

The numbers 28 and 36 designate pulling or tractive effort of the locomotive in thousands of pounds. The tractive effort of K-28s with a full tender is rated at 27,500 pounds, and the tractive effort of a K-36 is a 36,200 pounds. The weight of a K-28 with a full tender is 254,500 and a K-36 weighs 286,600 pounds with a full tender.

470 Series

The 470 series or K-28 locomotives were ten engines designed for passenger service along the D&RG. They were built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in Schenectady, New York, in 1923.

Out of the original ten only three 470s remain, and all are owned by the D & S. The other seven were requisitioned by the United States Army in 1942 to be used on the White Pass & Yukon Route in Alaska during World War II. They were later dismantled for scrap in 1946.

Locomotives 473, 476, and 478 operated on many parts of the D&RGW. Engine 473 served frequently on the Chili Line that operated between Antonito, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. 473 served on the Chili Line until it was abandoned in 1941. 476 and 478 saw an extensive service on the San Juan passenger train, which ran between Durango, Colorado and Alamosa, Colorado until 1951. 473, 476, and 478 operated on the Silverton Branch from the 1950s through 1980.

480 Series

The 480 series or K-36 locomotives were ten engines designed for the D&RGW. They were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1925. The 480's were the last ten narrow gauge locomotives constructed for the DRGW, and among the last built for work in the United States. The 480s were used for freight-hauling throughout the D&RGW narrow gauge network.

D&S owns four K-36s: 480, 481, 482, and 486. Engines 483, 484, 487, 488, and 489 are owned by the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. 485, unfortunately, fell into the turntable pit in Salida, Colorado in 1955. It was scrapped for parts thereafter.

Locomotive 315

Locomotive 315 is a C-18 locomotive, built in 1895. It was restored to operating condition in 2007 by the Durango Railroad Historical Society, which operates the locomotive occasionally on both the Durango & Silverton and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic.[1]

Diesel

The D&S operates four diesel engines. Narrow gauge diesel engines are just as rare as other narrow gauge equipment. All the diesel engines are of center cab style, where the cab straddles the center of the engine.

Hotshot #1 is a 50 ton center cab engine built in 1957.

Big Al #7 is a 87 ton center cab engine built in 1975. Big Al is named after the owner of the D&S, Allen C. Harper.

Engines #9 and #11 are both 90 ton center cab engines.

The train was made more famous in the song The Silverton, by C.W. McCall.

The D&S was a featured locale in the 1950 Technicolor western movie A Ticket to Tomahawk. This film's spectacular scenery and machinery was not obscured by a noticeable plot, but was complemented by a brief bit-player appearance by Marilyn Monroe. The film is out of print as of August 2006.

The current D&S was the location for much of the middle '50's vintage James Stewart film [Night Passage]. Especially interesting is the scene shot as the train traverses the "High Line" above the Animas River Gorge.

The D&S is prominently featured in the 1952 film "Denver and Rio Grande (film)".

The D&S is the train in the beginning of the 2006 movie The Prestige.

The D&S is also featured in the film Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film).

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rail transport in Colorado.

References

Notes
  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
  2. ^ a b "Durango-Silverton Narrow-Gauge Railroad". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  3. ^ Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and Museum Official site and Museums.
  4. ^ a b Joseph S. Mendinghall (May 7, 1976), Template:PDFlink, National Park Service {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) and Template:PDFlink
Bibliography
  • Royem, Robert T. (2002). America's Railroad: The Official Guidebook of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Published by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, First Edition 2002.
  • Osterwald, Doris B. (2001). Cinders & Smoke: A mile by mile guide for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Denver, Colorado: Golden Bell Press, Eighth Edition, Thirty-fourth printing, Western Guideways, Ltd., 2001. ISBN 0-931788-80-3
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