We were up early and out the door at 6:00 am. We hitched a ride with another Airstream couple, and safely arrived back in Durango. We parked, found the depot, and picked up our tickets. A visit to Starbucks for some early morning fortification was also in order…
Then we waited for the arrival of the… Bus!
Yes – we had to take the bus to the train…
Durango was organized in September 1880 to serve the San Juan mining district. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) chose the site on the Animas River for its depot following a brief and most likely perfunctory negotiation with Animas City, two miles to the north.
The railroad arrived in Durango on August 5, 1881 and construction on the line to Silverton began in the fall of the same year. By July of 1882, the tracks to Silverton were completed, and the train began hauling both freight and passengers.
The line was constructed to haul silver & gold ore from Southwest Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, but passengers soon realized it was the view that was truly precious.
This historic train has been in continuous operation between Durango and Silverton since 1882, carrying passengers behind vintage steam locomotives and rolling stock indigenous to the line. The ride today offers a view of Colorado’s mountain splendor inaccessible by highway.
So after about 30 minutes we arrived at Rockwood station, the OTHER train depot. It seems that mudslides this past July (due to wild fires) have damaged the tracks between Durango and the Rockwood station; this is where we found the train.
We boarded the train and found our seats. We opted for an open car so that we could take photos…
But the enclosed cars were very nice as well…
The train takes about 2 1/2 hours from here to get to Silverton. It uses 10,000 gallons of water for each round trip. We will stop twice to take on water… It also uses 6 1/2 tons of coal (hand-shoveled) to make each round trip…
As we pulled out of the station the view was less than spectacular…
Then we turned around and saw what going on on the other side of the train…
For the next 2 2/1 hours we had views like this – mountains, the Animas River, bridges, rocks… I have 5,000 more photos if you are interested… I’ll try to be gentle here…
Here we are stopping for water… The spigot is ingenious – as the fireman on the train pulls down the spigot it mechanically opens the valve to let the water flow…
We soon came to that part of the river that has still not recovered from the toxic waste “spill” that the EPA intentionally released into the river about three years ago…
As we approached Silverton we saw the remnants of an old mine…
The town of Silverton is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, San Juan County, Colorado. Silverton is a former silver mining camp, most or all of which is now included in a federally designated National Historic Landmark District. The town population is about 600, and it is at an elevation of 9,318′
The town is about as old west as it gets – many streets are unpaved, buildings are, or look like they are, very old, very old west “architecture”. Most buildings are gift shops or restaurants, plus the marijuana dispensary…
We ate lunch at Handlebar’s Restaurant and Saloon…
After strolling the streets of Silverton and looking at all the junk for sale in the gift shops we returned to wait for the train…
We boarded and enjoyed the same trip as earlier in the day, only backwards…
After we de-trained we rode the bus back to Durango, then rode back to the RV Park. We crashed… and an enjoyable time was had by all…
Adventures in the Villa 
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