Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum
Travels with Dave and Elaine Violette
Durango CO - 8/25/2009
Author: David A. Violette, David@Violette.com
Keywords: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Durango CO, Dave and Elaine Violette
Description: Still operating after 128 years, the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad draws many passengers each year for the spectacular ride - the Museum tells the story
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum is housed in the old railroad depot
If you are a fan of early railroads, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum in Durango is a great place to visit. Displays run from old steam locomotives, to station furniture, to small equipment used in running the railroad. Plus, since the Durango & Silverton played a large role in several movies there are also movie memorabilia.
The Durango & Silverton was built as part of the Denver & Rio Grande line used to haul silver and gold ore out of the San Juan Mountain mining district. Later, when silver prices dropped, uranium was mined and hauled in turn. By the 1940s those payloads had diminished but Hollywood found the line and used it in several feature films.
Today the line thrives year-round serving the scenic tourist industry.
In operation continuously for 128 years, the Durango & Silverton has survived by adapting to changing conditions, but its constant has been the scenic route over which its stock rolls.
A surveying instrument used to lay out the rail line. After all, there would be no railroad without the engineers and surveyors who design the road!
#42 is one of the old 2-8-0 steam locomotives used on the line.
These conductor's lanterns are among the many items on display at the Museum
The rails of the Denver & Rio Grande first reached Durango in August 1881, and on into Silverton in July 1882. While the primary reason for the route was to haul mineral ore and processed minerals, it always had a large passenger component and was advertised because of the scenic route over which that branch passed. The line has survived a fire that destroyed the whole of downtown Durango in 1889, mines opening and closing, changes in mineral markets, being taken over by the US military during World War I, having locomotives taken away for use in Alaska by the military during World War II, and many natural disasters.
While we did not take the train ride on this trip, saving it for a future visit, we did visit the Museum located in the old railroad station.
The Museum has displays of railroad locomotives, rolling stock, cabooses, and other equipment. There are also displays of the tools used to build the railroad - the Denver & Rio Grande was built entirely by hand, though the Silverton branch did have some equipment used during construction.
There are also many examples of items such as lanterns, padlocks, and other tools and equipment used by railroad employees to keep things running.
Since the line was closely associated with mining and minerals, there are also displays of the different ores that the line hauled as well as some of the tools used in mining.
And there are several displays related to the movies that the Durango & Silverton played a role in.
One large exhibit that draws a lot of attention is a model railroad system that has several different lines that run at the push of buttons. This drew many men and some women as well.
My only complaint is that the interior of the museum is too dark, making it hard to take photos. The simple flash systems on today's digital cameras are just not powerful enough to light up big items such as the locomotives, whose large black surfaces seem to soak up any light you shine on them.