Durango To Silverton via Railroad

Ahhh, this train ride had to be one of the MOST scenic trains we have road on. Leaving Durango around 9:30 am it started slow as we chugged our way out of Durango. After leaving Durango behind the scenery began to get much better. Especially after we went under Hwy 550 and started our route along the Animas River. We rode in the Parlor car which was a good choice as it was enclosed and was certainly a lot warmer than the open air cars. The morning temps were in the high 50's.

Our train was a very long one with around 20 cars. Because of this and the big climb we had to make, we picked up a second engine right before starting the climb. I forget just how high we did climb, but I believe it was somewhere around 2,000 feet between Durango and Silverton.

At one point we were 400 feet above the Animas River. From the cliffs along the railroad is where the famous jump was made in the move "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Do you remember the line? "I can't jump, I don't know how to swim. Not a problem, the jump will kill you anyway" or something close to that! There was a good bit of the movie filmed in this area.

The closer to Silverton we got, the more fall color we saw. It was absolutely beautiful! Because of the time of day and the angles used when taking pictures, they don't do the color justice. I wish that they had turned out better.

The weather was perfect until we arrived in Silverton. Just a mile or so out, the clouds really started piling up and by the time we arrived at the station, it was totally overcast and threatening rain which about 30 minutes later came down upon us.

We had lunch at the Shady Lady Restaurant. This building was built in the late 1880's and was the location of the last brothel in Silverton. Yes, Silverton had a wild side, gambling, shoot-outs, brothels, and lots of saloons. Interesting though is the fact that there was a imaginary line drawn down the middle of Greene St. dividing the town between the law-abiding, church going citizens and the others.

Because of the rain, we didn't get but a few pictures from Silverton and didn't get to walk around town like we wanted to do. We had just over a hour after lunch before the bus left to bring us back to Durango and spent most of that time in just two stores to stay out of the cold rain - the temperatures were in the high 40's!

The bus ride back was nice even though it rained for the first 30 minutes, then remained overcast until we were about 30 miles from Durango. There was no chance for picture taking on the bus.

Because the weather in Silverton wasn't the best, we have decided to drive back in the Jeep. It will be a 2 1/2 hour drive one way, but hey, we're retired! I'm not looking forward to the drive between Durango and Silverton. There is only one way in, Hwy 550, and there are two passes to go over, a lot of road without any shoulder with straight drop offs. But, I figure that if we made it up and back from Pikes Peak, this probably won't be as bad - at least it's paved! We have friends that drive their motorhome to Silverton every year but as much as I'd like to take the motorhome to Silverton, I don't think it will happen. Anyway, I hope to get more fall color pictures on the day we drive. We can stop at the pull-off's and several of them were very scenic.

Enjoy the pictures from the Durango/Silverton Train at http://picasaweb.google.com/SchultzTravelPhotos

Come on back as we still have the Four Corners and now Silverton to visit. See ya!