Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad - Operating Practice and Route Description

Operating Practice and Route Description

The railroad runs 45 miles (72 km) from the Durango yard to Silverton, crossing the Animas River five times throughout the trip. Once trains reach Silverton and unload passengers, the train is turned on the wye, backs uptown to pick up returning passengers, and makes the trip back to Durango. One way scheduled trains take 3½ hours to run the 45 miles (72 km) each way, with a 2¼ hour layover in Silverton.

A train departing Durango generally takes about one hour between the crew arriving and the train departing. Brakemen inspect the train for cleanliness and required tools for the day, including a flagging kit and marker lamps for the rear of the train. The conductor will sign in his crew and obtain passenger lists and track reports to deliver to his crew. The engineer and fireman will inspect the locomotive and prepare it for the day's trip, making sure all machinery is lubricated and in proper condition, and no last minute repairs are needed. The fireman will ensure proper coal and water is in the tender, and make sure lubricating oil is on supply and that automatic lubrication is working properly; he will also clean the cab and hose off the engine and tender of ash and dust.

Once the engine is ready, the locomotive will be pulled onto the mainline, and backed up, working the engine against the brakes to check braking capability, and also to clean the smokebox and cylinders of condensation, and work the cylinders to warm them up for lubrication. The head brakeman will hook the locomotive up to the train, and the car shop will then assist the crew by performing brake tests with the engineer.

Scheduled trains on the Durango & Silverton operate on authority by timetable, though on occasion may be annulled for special trains or other circumstances. A train leaving Durango will depart at 5 mph (8 km/h) until the train is off the platform, then advance to 10 mph (16 km/h) until leaving yard limits, where track speed is 15 mph (24 km/h). The 15th Street bridge is just east of the Durango yard limits, and maintenance-of-way crews also have a storage area here, where track patrolmen will inspect the train rolling by. The grade is fairly flat until 32nd Street, where a small hill will have the engine work a little until 36th Street. The train will then roll downgrade about 1⁄₄ miles (0.40 km) and use that to accelerate to 20 mph (32 km/h), which is the track speed between 36th St. and Hermosa. Home Ranch is the first siding past Durango, however a new wye is to be built just east of here to turn trains for the Polar Express in the near future. As the train runs through the valley, it is traveling on the longest tangent on the railroad, since most of the railroad meanders through the canyon following the river. Motorists can drive alongside the train through here and watch the engine work harder and harder as it starts to climb towards Hermosa. Passing Trimble Lane, the engine will start to pick up some work as the grade stiffens. A scheduled train takes 40 minutes to reach Hermosa from Durango.

Hermosa has a small maintenance-of-way yard and siding, as well as the first water tank to fill the engine's tender. Doubleheaded trains will often be put together here, with the helper running light to Hermosa ahead of the train, take on water, and then await the arrival of the train with the road engine spotting itself at the tank and taking on water. After a brake test, the train will then take on the 30 minute, 2.5% climb between Hermosa and Rockwood. As the train climbs away from the valley, passengers will notice the locomotives working hard to pull the train through the many curves that now define the railroad. An hour after leaving Durango the train passes under US Highway 550 and slows to 10 mph (16 km/h) to traverse the "mini-highline", a rock shelf where the track follows the edge of a small cliff, and then picks up speed again through the meadow at Shalona. This is the last grade crossing the railroad encounters until Silverton. Slowing again after the crossing, the train winds around another rock face above Shalona Lake, with Rockwood being just around the next curve. Rockwood has a short wye and siding, and is also the first flagstop on the line. Being an hour and ten minutes by rail from Durango, some passengers lodging nearby opt to board the train here instead of driving all the way to town. The grade tops off for awhile and the helper engine on doubleheaded trains will be cut off here and run ahead light to Tank Creek. As the train enters the narrow rock cut, it becomes the only ground transportation into the Animas Canyon. Passengers immediately notice the slow pace of the train as it winds onto the "highline", a famous section of the railroad where the train crawls along the face of high cliffs. The engine crew will usually blow down the engine on the bridge at MP 471.2 to clean sediment from the boiler and the fireman will look back on his side of the train for a highball from the rear brakeman, indicating the rear of the train has cleared the bridge and the engineer can pick up speed to 15 mph (24 km/h), the track speed the rest of the way to Silverton. The roadbed closely follows the Animas River from now on, and the grade fluctuates quite a bit between here and Cascade Canyon. Tacoma is the next flagstop and the railroad has another siding here. At MP 474.5 is the Tank Creek water tank, and engines will stop here for water. The fireman will top off the tender, taking about 4,000 US gallons (3,331 imp gal; 15,142 l), while the engineer oils around the engine and inspects machinery and bearings. On doubleheaded trains, the helper locomotive will then rejoin the train and perform another brake test.

From Tank Creek, trains only travel about 1 mile (1.6 km) before reaching Tall Timber Resort. Another mile and the train is traveling on a very narrow rock wall before rounding the curve and climbing into Cascade. Cascade is two hours and 26 miles (42 km) by rail from Durango, and in the winter trains are turned here on the wye due to avalanche chutes further up the railroad. After crossing the Animas a third time, the railroad curves to the east and heads towards Needleton. The grade through here tends to stair-step between short steep 3% grades and longer gradual 2-2.5% while winding through many reverse curves. Unlike the mainline that was constructed by the D&RG before arriving in Durango, the Silverton branch was laid without compensated curves, and the trains can really drag into some of the reverse curves against the engine. A 10 mph (16 km/h) speed restriction covers a sharp curve above a rock face at MP 481.5.

Needleton flag stop is roughly 1⁄₂ miles (0.80 km) from the Needleton siding, and another 1⁄₄ miles (0.40 km) beyond that to the Needleton water tank. Trains stopping at Needleton flag stop are for backpackers usually hiking up to the Chicago Basin, as well as occasional homesteaders who have cabins in the forest. Locomotives have a hard time starting the trains from a stop here as well as leaving from the tank stop, indicated by the layer of sand on the tracks and the frequency of the valves centering up, forcing the engineer to back the locomotive up a foot or so before trying to start forward again. On the westbound trains, the tender only needs about 1,000 US gallons (833 imp gal; 3,785 l) to be topped off before proceeding to Silverton, however, the steepest grade lies ahead. The track out of Needleton is around 2.5%, with a little ease around MP 486, but then quickly steepens again, topping off 4% at MP 488. From MP 488 to Elk Park the fireman finally gets a break on the wider, sweeping curves and flatter grade.

Elk Park is the last siding, wye, and flagstop before Silverton. Not as popular as Needleton for hikers, Elk Park is where the railroad crosses the Colorado Trail and it often serves as a hunting camp in season. Also past Elk Park, the railroad is among some of the highest concentration of avalanche chutes in the state. The Snowshed Slide once had a snowshed, until burning and leaving behind remnants of what once gave the slide its name. The grade has one decent pull approaching Snowshed, but afterwards is pretty easy the rest of the way to Silverton, and also has longer, sweeping, slightly elevated curves which allow for smooth running. The engineer will blow a warning whistle approaching the sharp curve at Cataract, the narrowest section of the entire canyon, before opening up to the valley that holds Silverton.

The railroad crosses the Animas one last time before entering yard limits. The train slows to 10 mph (16 km/h) and blows a long station call on the whistle before passing the depot. After the train arrives, passengers deboard the train and the crew backs the train down to the wye for servicing. An ashpit was recently constructed for use and to aid in heavier repairs if needed, which do happen on occasion. After shoving the train uptown for boarding passengers, the engineer will oil and inspect the engine once again and the crew will perform another brake test for the return trip to Durango.

Trains will almost always use straight air unless conditions or equipment don't allow. The engineer won't need to use steam for power to move the train until just east of Tacoma, and after climbing to Rockwood, can drift again all the way to Trimble Lane in the valley near Durango. As far as water, trains coming from Silverton will top off again at Needleton on the return, and Cascade trains won't need water for the return.

Steam locomotives after arrival in Durango are cut from the trains for immediate servicing, which can make the shop crew pretty busy in the summer with four or five locomotives being tended. Servicing includes coaling up the tender, adding wood pellets for fuel for overnight stoking, refilling the sand supply, cleaning or dropping the fire depending on the schedule for the locomotive, and then spotting the engine in the roundhouse to apply grease, shoot bearings, refill oilers, and replenish water. Running 90-mile (140 km) trips each day in the summer with the heavy trains will also cause damage to the running gear and require heavier repairs at times, which the roundhouse is capable of doing.

The railroad uses a couple of small diesel switching locomotives for work trains and everyday yard switching to allow the steam locomotives to enter the shop areas sooner. The use of wood pellets for overnight fuel, as well as diesel switchers are a result of constant complaints from local citizens regarding the smoke from the coal-fired engines. Though the railroad has been present in the town since its founding, the D&SNG has tried its best to appease the locals.