Tuesday May 27, 2014

 

Non-Travel Day

 

This morning we had an 8:45 AM departure time in Durango for the “Durango & Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad” . This is a scenic railroad that took us through breathtaking scenery on a 3 and one half hour trip along the Animas River through valleys, canyons and forests on our way to the mining town of Silverton. Here we had lunch in a restored restaurant and then walked the streets, only one was paved in the whole town, shopping and admiring the old restored buildings. After a 2 and a half hour layover we boarded the train again for the return trip to Durango. 
The package we purchased included a Historic Narrator on both legs of the trip in an enclosed vintage coach. The narrators we had, different ones for each trip, were both excellent and gave us historical information about the region, along with information on the landscape, the towns and where to take the best pictures. This is a trip that we would recommend to everyone. The steam engine on our trip was built in 1925, classified as a “K 36” engine; on the trip up the mountain to Silverton, an increase in elevation of 2,800 feet, we stopped for water twice and the engine consumed 8 ton of coal. After returning to Durango we had a delicious meal at the Palace Restaurant, and then strolled along Main Street.