Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and a Special Surprise

November 19-21, 2021

A mere week after Brandy and I attended the Blue October concert at Sunshine Theater, we headed north to Durango for my birthday. This trip included a long awaited trip on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and another very special surprise.

Friday, November 19

I took the day off work Friday, November 19. We took our time getting up and ready and set out at around 9:00 am.

We dropped Ash off at his sitter’s then headed up I-25 to highway 550 in Bernalillo, then north through Bernalillo, Cuba, Bloomfield, and across the state line into Durango.

Our first stop was the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s office.

Why, you ask?

Brandy and I finally tied the knot we started tying in February of 2020.

We had a brief interview with the clerk, taking about 30 minutes to fill out the application and pay the $30 fee. We were promised the marriage license and certificate would be mailed to us so we left the building with a receipt.

We left the county clerk’s office and stopped at the Diamond Belle Saloon at the historic Strater Hotel in downtown Durango.

The saloon is fashioned after the old west saloons down to the outfits the staff were wearing.

We arrived at about 2:00. There was one other table occupied so we figured we’d get served fairly quickly. It did take a bit longer than I felt it should have four our server to greet us, but she did, eventually taking our drink and food orders.

We ordered the crispy potato wedges as an appetizer, then I ordered the French dip and Brandy ordered the Reuben.

It took a long time for the potato wedges to come, so when they did, they were only lukewarm and were sparsely topped. The meat of the potato was dry and overall we were not impressed.

When we’d had enough of the potatoes, we sat and waited for our sandwiches. And we waited. And waited. And waited. To make matters worse, our server never came to check on us. She was behind the bar having a deep conversation with the bartender about her dating life.

We eventually grabbed her and asked where our food was, and she said she’d check on it. After a longer than acceptable wait, she swung by to tell us it was on its way, that the kitchen was understaffed.

Again, there was only one other table occupied in the restaurant, and the other two restaurants in the hotel are only open for dinner, so we should have been the only people having food prepared.

Finally, after nearly 45 minutes, we finally got our sandwiches. Now, I will say, I was pleased with my French dip, but having to wait nearly 45 minutes for it was wholly unacceptable.

Brandy wasn’t impressed with her Reuben. I wound up eating the last few bites of it, and I thought it was fine.

I think if our server was more attentive, and the food came faster, it would have been a fine experience, but the service left a lot to be desired.

Check-In

We left the restaurant and headed to our motel, the Econo Lodge Inn & Suites on Main Ave. This is the same motel where we stayed on our trip to Almont for my birthday in 2020.

Check-in was smooth, if not slowed a bit by the new employee being trained on the process. We were given our key and we headed to our room.

As it was during that trip last year, the room was fine but is sorely lacking in some areas. First and foremost, the sink in the bathroom is a pedestal sink with zero counter space to unpack our bathroom stuff. We wound up unpacking it on the table in the room.

There is no AC in the rooms but each room has a box fan which we used, instead of our little desktop fan.

There is a nice large closet but there’s no light in it and the room lights don’t light it up very well so you almost have to have a flashlight to see into it.

On one occasion while we were outside smoking, a man clearly on drugs walked up to a door and knocked. He walked away frustrated that there was no answer, circled the motel, and returned to the door, knocking once more. When he did not get an answer, he kicked over a trash can just outside the door at which he was knocking.

We’ve decided we won’t stay at this location again.

The Durango & Silverton Railroad

The crux of the trip was to take a trip on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for my birthday. Early in our reconnection, I invited Brandy on the trip that I was planning anyway. She agreed, so I booked the room and she booked the train ride as my birthday present.

The railroad takes a brief break between their fall and winter seasons. It just so happened that their first ride of the winter was on my birthday. Unfortunately, the winter train doesn’t go all the way to Silverton, instead stopping about halfway in Cascade Canyon.

The train was scheduled to depart at 9:00 and they ask that we arrive 15 minutes prior to check in and board. The depot was only a few blocks from the motel and was just behind the Strater Hotel where we’d had lunch the day before. We parked in the designated lot next to McDonald’s and walked 5 minutes to the train station. We checked in and got our lunches that Brandy had pre-ordered. We then wandered through the gift shop picking up a magnet before being called to board.

The Train

Knowing NOTHING about trains, I’m going to offer up what I’ve been able to glean from the pictures I took cross-referenced with information I’ve found on Wikipedia.

The engine of the train we took is a 480 series, or K-36 class 2-8-2 locomotive. It is one of ten built for the Durango & Rio Grande Western Railroad by Baldwin Locomotive Works in the early 1920s.

The railroad offers four classes of service: standard class, deluxe class, first class and presidential class, each with an increasing number of amenities.

We were seated in the first class car, the Knight Sky car which offers unparalleled overhead views through its glass roof and sides. The car converts to an open air car during the warmer months, but in the winter, they had the windows installed and the heater on. The seats were a little snug for me and Brandy but we made it work.

As first class riders, we were given a tote bag with two travel mugs adorned with D&SNGRR livery. We were also served complimentary non-alcoholic beverages (we could have bought booze but we elected not to.)

The attendant on our car was a geologist by trade and offered little tidbits of info about the rock formations we would pass in addition to the rail information she’d gained from her time on the railroad.

We left the station in Durango at about 9:15 and headed up into the San Juan Mountains. The train rocked gently as we made our way up and up and up.

There was an observation deck at each end of our car. I went out on to it several times to snap pictures and even take video.

There were times when we rode on track that was barely perched on top of a sheer cliff that dropped into a deep canyon below:

And times when we squeezed through impossibly narrow cuts in the rock:

Cascade Canyon

The ride up to Cascade Canyon was a little over 2 hours. At our arrival, we backed into a wye and parked as we all disembarked and explored the area.

The weather was surprisingly mild for late November. We were expecting to see some snow but it wasn’t even cold enough for snow even if moisture decided to fall.

Brandy and I found a little spot next to the Animas River to eat our lunch before exploring more.

We walked the length of the train, hooking around the engine and finding ourselves under a huge gazebo with lots of seating for the passengers of the train. There’s an enormous fireplace under the roof but it was not lit at the time.

We wandered around a bit more, taking pictures and video of the train and the surrounding area then headed back to our seats to get ready for the return trip.

The Return

The return trip was quiet. Our attendant told us that she’d given us all the information she had on the way up, but she’d be around to answer any questions for us as well as to serve us more drinks at our request.

As the train rocked and swayed, I noticed several people falling asleep. The excitement followed by the food, then finished with the motion of the rolling stock was too much for some.

I managed to stay awake for the trip back to Durango. We got back at around 2:30 or so and decided to take a trip up to Silverton, since the train didn’t.

Silverton

We headed up highway 550 pretty uneventfully until just past the Purgatory Resort. Just after that point, the road begins to wind up and through the mountains. The higher elevation meant we finally encountered snow. There was plenty piled up on the sides of the road and at some points we encountered actively falling snow.

After about an hour and 20 minutes, we finally made it in to Silverton. It was quiet. Only a few cars were parked in front of the few businesses that were open; most of the businesses were closed for the season.

The main road through town, highway 550, is paved but all of the other streets are dirt roads.

We made a stop at a gas station to use the restroom then headed back to Durango.

The Worst Mexican Food I’ve Ever Eaten

When we got back to the motel, we were pretty beat so we decided to Door Dash some food. Since it was my birthday, I decided on Mexican food. We looked for a decently reviewed restaurant and placed our order with Los Amigos del Sur.

I ordered barbacoa, Brandy ordered fajitas, and we ordered chips and queso with a side of guacamole.

By the time the food showed up, the food was cold, the barbacoa was dry, the fajitas flavorless, and the queso was literally a pile of melted cheese. By the time it got to us, it was congealed into an inedible brick and we didn’t get the guacamole that we paid $5 for.

All in all, it was a pretty terrible experience, especially for spending nearly $80 on the food, delivery fee and tip. It’s hard to blame the restaurant when getting food delivered as the Dasher doesn’t have the ability to check the order to make sure it’s right. If we were eating in the restaurant, it may have been a completely different story.

Anyway, we ate what we could and shortly called it a night.

Back to ‘Burque

The next morning, we got up and ritualistically got ready, packed up and headed home. We’ve traveled so much as a couple, we’ve gotten really good at it. We can pack to leave in minutes, unpack when we arrive at our destination, and re-pack to return like the law is after us.

And, after our most recent trip that took place just before making this post, we’ve discovered that we can condense pretty much everything into one big suitcase. More on that when I post about our snowy trip to Almont.

Conclusion

All in all, it was a fantastic and memorable trip. We got married and I got to cross an item off my To-Do List. I would like to take the train again in the spring or summer, when it goes all the way to Silverton. When we do, we’ll be sure to stay somewhere besides the Econo Lodge and we will avoid Los Amigos del Sur.

I have pictures posted on my Photo Diary, which you may or may not notice has gone through a bit of a facelift.

As always, I thank you for stopping by my little corner of the internet. I appreciate you!

-Phil