Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

Overview
Headquarters	Durango, Colorado
Locale	La Plata County, Colorado San Juan County, Colorado
Dates of operation	1881–present
Technical
Track gauge	3 ft (914 mm)
Length	45 miles (72 km)
Other
Website	www.durangotrain.com
Route map Legend Silverton Mineral Creek Animas River Deer Park Creek Elk Creek Animas River Needleton Water Tank Needleton Animas River Rockwood Grasshopper Creek Tank Creek Canyon Creek Animas River Elbert Creek US 550 Hermosa Trimble Lane 36th Street 32nd Street Junction Creek Huck Finn Pond 15th Street Bridge Durango Yard US 550 Durango

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Highline above Animas Canyon
Show map of Colorado Show map of the United States
Location	Durango, Colorado Silverton, Colorado
Coordinates	37°17′51″N 107°52′14″W / 37.29750°N 107.87056°W / 37.29750; -107.87056
Built	1882
Architect	General William J. Palmer
NRHP reference No.	66000247[1][2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	July 4, 1961

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 miles (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally-designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.^[3]

The route was originally opened in 1882 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) to transport silver and gold ore mined from the San Juan Mountains. The line was the "San Juan" extension of the D&RG 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line from Antonito, Colorado, to Durango. The last train to operate into Durango from the east was on December 6, 1968. The states of New Mexico and Colorado purchased 64 miles of track between Antonito and Chama, New Mexico, in 1970, which is operated today as the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&TSRR). Trackage between Chama and Durango was removed by 1971.

The line from Durango to Silverton 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 U.S. which has seen continuous use of steam locomotives. In March 1981, the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) sold the line and the D&SNG was formed.^[4] Today, the D&SNG, along with the C&TSRR, are the only two remaining parts of the former D&RGW narrow-gauge network. The railroad has a total of nine narrow-gauge steam locomotives (eight of which are operational) and ten narrow-gauge diesel locomotives, six of which have been acquired since 2020, on its current roster.

Some rolling-stock dates back to the 1880s. Trains operate from Durango to the Cascade Wye in the winter months and Durango–Silverton during the summer months. Durango depot was built in January 1882 and has been preserved in its original form.^[4]