The Durango and Silverton
This day was one of my favorite so far. We boarded our train for Silverton just before 9:00 AM local time. We departed exactly on time for the relaxing 3+ hour journey through the Animas River canyon. This was definitely the most picturesque of the rides we’ve been on so far, and at the best time of the year! About half of the forest was a beautiful golden yellow, the river flowed with grace, and there were many fascinating tight quarters the line passed through on its way up the route. Hearing locomotive 493 work her hardest up the 4% grade was absolutely fantastic! I will say, the ride was probably the roughest of all the ones we’ve had, but that made it all the more exciting. Lunch in Silverton was nice, as was the ride back, despite the rain storm that left us chilly in the open air car. Our conductor Nick was absolutely fantastic, a truly excellent person to talk to. He even caught us in the parking lot as we were trying to decide on what to eat, and wished us even more warm wishes while providing a top notch selection for supper tonight. All in all, it was a great day!
-Tom
An artsy ticket photo…before learning this was the wrong train.
The Open Air Car we rode on.
493 doing the work she was built for in 1902.