24 April – Durango

Up early (it was cold!) and off to take the trolley bus into town and the Durango – Silverton railway. We arrived at the station to find a pretty big crowd ready to board. The railway is a narrow gauge rail winding through the mountains up to Silverton. Because of the snow on the mountains though, it only goes part way until May. We had booked tickets in the first class carriage with a glass roof for maximum views. 

We were the second carriage from the back which was good, because we got great views of the engine as we went around curves and also we were a long way from the soot and smoke. We were followed by a guy in a little maintenance train – he follows the train to put out any fires started by cinders. In summer a tanker precedes the train and hoses down the trackside to reduce the fire risk.

Setting off, we headed out quite fast along the valley, but slowed right up when we reached the mountains. The steepest climb was 2.5%, but it slowed the ole girl up a lot! We had excellent service in first class, with the server doubling as an interesting tour guide along the way. We had access to a great drinks menu and had hot chocolates with Baileys and with Peppermint Schnapps. Yummo!

The views from the train were fantastic. We chugged alongside the Animas River over bridges and through cuttings with the mountains towering above us. 

We stopped for 45 minutes at a riverside cutting for a leg stretch and more photos, then back on the train for the return journey. 

The train has been used in movies and one of the cuttings featured in a John Wayne movie where he leapt from the rocks to the roof of the train to rob it. Although we suspect a stunt man did the actual jumping.

The journey took 5 hours and was a lovely way to spend the day.