We spent most of the day on the train! It's an old narrow-gauge railroad (because that's what they could fit in these mountains) which has been in operation since 1882. It used to be a working railroad, but now carries tourists the 45 miles from Durango to Silverton and back. It has a steam engine that still runs on coal. It takes 3.5 hours each way since it runs very slowly and has to climb fairly steep inclines, and it takes on water a couple of times.
We chose a closed car. It was cold part of the time, but when it warmed up, we opened the windows. I spent a little time in the open car behind us, so I could get better pictures. We still came home with some cinders in our clothes and hair.
They have been running two trains a day, but will start three tomorrow. There are places where you could reach out and touch the rocks on the side of the track, but they warn you to keep body parts inside! There are other places where the side of the cliff drops off just a couple of feet from the edge of the tracks.
We ate lunch in Silverton, which is still surviving mainly because of this very popular railroad.
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| Rear end of the train |
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Can you tell how steep the drop is?
That's the Ainmas River below. |
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| Letting off steam |
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Chipmunk at the water stop.
He knows people will toss treats! |
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Lots of rushing water in the river.
It has rained here for the past two days, plus there is snow melt. |
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| Snow-capped peaks |
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| Entering Silverton |
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| Getting instructions before we get off |
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| Our train |
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Downtown Silverton...
Only the main street is paved. |
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| These are the expensive, fancy cars. |
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| Open car |
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| Us in front of our car |
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| Taking on water |
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Steep dropoff
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| Prairie dog watching the train |
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| Cottonwood "fluff" at our campsite |
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