Into the Mystic: Narrow Gauge

Currently in Southwest Colorado
One more stop in Colorado before we head to New Mexico

Anyone who knows my husband knows that he LOVES trains - model trains, old trains, trains of all shapes and sizes. He has ben looking forward to riding the narrow gauge Durango-Silverton train for months. He took 250 photos the day we went!

Although we started at the Durango train depot, we boarded buses headed toward Rockwood where we boarded the train since fires/mudslides had washed out the track just beyond Durango.
We learned that the railroad was built in the late 1800's to carry goods and people up to Silverton and mining towns up in the mountains. The track was built to be narrow because it's cheaper and easier to get around the mountains. Eventually, tourists wanted to ride the train to see the beautiful Colorado landscape.

We decided to sit in the open gondola car so we could see everything better. Look how happy Johnny is!

The conductor explained the "rules of the road".

And we're off!

We saw some beautiful landscapes, including views of the Animas River and the San Juan National Forest.

At certain points the rocks in the river are red from the iron washing down the mountains.

I love the color of the water in these photos.

There were many pretty groves of Aspens along the route.

We saw both white steam and black smoke from the coal coming from the engine.

The train stopped twice on the way to Silverton for a water fill. You can see the yellow water tank and then the black arm that fills the train's tank.

3 hours into the ride, we pulled into Silverton.

We and lunch at the oldest brothel in Silverton, closed in 1947 and converted to a restaurant.

After lunch, we walked around Silverton for a bit. An old mining-turned-tourist town.

Love the historic buildings. The courthouse, town hall, union hall respectively. All built in early 1900s with similar architecture.

The historic hotel was built in 1882 and is on the main street in Silverton.

This trolley car was used to bring people from the train to the Wyman hotel.

And this caboose was built in 1880 and retired by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1920.

"World's Highest Harley Store" is located in Silverton. They just sell branded merchandise - no bikes. The bench has motorcycle parts - very funny.

Although the streets that the tourists travel are paved, several streets in Silverton are dirt roads.

We headed back to Durango later that afternoon. We saw a helicopter circling the area and figured out that it was carrying a red bucket that was ready to drop water on the tracks if a fire started. There is an investigation looking into the start of the "416" fire in Southern Colorado. Some say a spark from the train may have ignited the forest.