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Visit the official site for the Durango & Silverton Railroad
or call 877-872-4607
Bar D Chuckwagon
970.247.5753 - 888.800.5753
Great Western stage show and delicious barbeque supper. Open nightly Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day. Reservations required.
Boot Barn
830 S. Camino Del Rio,
Durango 970-247-7720 www.bootbarn.com
While you're in Colorado, skip the souvenir shops. Instead, take home the real - the Wild - the west from Boot Barn.This is where cowboys find everything you want incouding shirts, jeans, hats and accessories.
Soaring Tree Top Adventures
970-769-2357
www.soaringcolorado.com
Tree Top Adventures, the largest, safest zipline tour available anywhere, has just gotten larger. In 2011, three new spans will open to the public, making a total of 27 ziplines in the ecofriendly course.
Grumpy's Restaurant & Saloon
at The Grand Imperial Hotel
1219 Greene St., Silverton 81433
1-800-341-3340 • www.grandimperialhotel.com
World-famous French Onion soup. Live honky tonk piano. Featured in John Feilder's "Best of Colorado." Open year-round. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Full bar with microbrews on tap. Located at the Grand Imperial Hotel.
Natalia's Family Restaurant
970.387.5300 - Silverton
Just 60 feet from where the train stops! Affordable family dining, serving hot American, Italian, and Mexican favorites.
Strater Hotel
699 Main Ave. - Durango
970.247.4431
Get on board and experience the charm, history and excitement.
Inside the Strater:
Mahogany Grille
Henry Strater Theater
The Jewelry Works
965 Main Ave - Durangp
970.247.3173
Creators of custom one-of-a-kind jewelry.
Southern Ute
Cultural Center & Museum
www.southernutemuseum.com
Come Live Our Story. Opening June 2011
Stay the Trail
www.staythetrail.org
The mission of Stay The Trail Colorado is to encourage the responsible use of the roads and trails that are open to motorized recreation in Colorado. Stay The Trail Colorado is a program of the Responsible Recreation Foundation. Looking for resources and information aout the use of off-highway vehicles? visit Stay The Trail for maps and up-todate information. |
All Aboard! The Durango & Silverton Railroad Guide
Creating History 30 years of
Durango & Silverton Railroad Company
-by Yvonne Lashmett
By the early 1950s, Denver & Rio Grande Western rail freight traffic in Southwest Colorado was reduced to a trickle as shippers started using the new highways built in the region post-World War II. In 1951 the Alamosa to Durango line ended. In 1952 the Rio Grande Southern that ran west from Durango to Ridgway was scrapped. In 1961 the D&RGW asked the Public Utilities Commission for permission to abandon the Silverton Branch as well. The PUC denied the request and begrudgingly, the D&RGW continued service on what had become a tourist-oriented train.
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Through the 1960s, due to its appearance in several Hollywood movies and promotional efforts of D&RGW employees such as conductor Alva Lyons, tourist ridership increased. The D&RGW wasprimarily a freight line and longed to be rid of the isolated Silverton Branch. As the tracks linking Durango to the outside world were torn up, the Silverton Branch continued on. Unable to abandon the line, the D&RGW soon started looking for a buyer. On March 25, 1981, Charles E. Bradshaw, a Florida citrus grower
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and real estate business man, purchased the 45.2-mile line and rolling stock for $2.2 million. Bradshaw changed the name of the railroad to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge and immediately began long-overdue improvements.
Showing his commitment to the preservation and longevity of the railroad, work began immediately to upgrade the rails and equipment, improve safety, and increase the passenger base.
Bradshaw purchased several K-36 locomotives that could haul longer and heavier trains to Silverton. The 254,500-pound K-36 locomotives complement the indigenous fleet of lighter K-28 locomotives which weighed 286,000 pounds fully loaded. Bridges were strengthened to handle the increased weight of the K-36s. As ridership increased, more trains were added to the schedule to increase capacity.
Once threatened with abandonment as the D&RGW, the D&SNGRR has earned its place in the history of Colorado and railroading. The D&SNGRR has become a respected, world famous tourist line hauling an average of over 200,000 passengers in the 1990s.
Bradshaw sold the D&SNGRR in 1997, but the name Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad lives on under the proud ownership of Al and Carol Harper. The Harpers are committed to continuing the preservation of this unique slice of history.
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