Relive the sights and sounds of yesteryear for a spectacular journey on board the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.Durango was founded by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in 1879. 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 (amazingly, only 9 months after construction began) the tracks to Silverton were completed, and the train began hauling both freight and passengers.
If you love American history, this town is full of it! The Narrow gauge Railroad is fascinating! I did the Steam Train tour and it was just breath taking scenery.
The train ride was great.The problem is that it goes to Silverton.Silverton seems to resent that its a tourist town. Hugly expensive, rude, iritable, bad experiance. Bring a picnik and enjoy the train.
We rode the parlor car on July 24, 2014, with Ellie. She was knowledgeable about the geology of the area, the great spots to get photos, and the history of the area and the train. She was funny and made the ride up there lots of fun. This was my fourth time to ride the train and was, by far, the best trip yet. I wanted to ride back on the train, but due to an appointment in Telluride, had to ride the bus back (I was disappointed that I could not ride the train back, but our bus driver was great as well — only drawback was a screaming child who was totally uncontrolled by his parents). The train is absolutely a must for everyone — for those who appreciate history, who appreciate the amazing scenery, and for those who appreciate trains and old mining towns. I highly recommend the parlor car if you can afford it.
For the price paid, the trip is not worth it. My wife and I paid $200 each for the Presidential ticket. The trip was very scenic and I enjoyed the ride. I just feel as though the perks for the Presidential ticket didn’t justify the cost. My wife and I did our do diligence in researching the ride prior to purchansing, but we noted that there was a dearth of information regarding just what you got for ticket level. There are just two perks for the Presidential ticket: (1) the porter tells stories and points out the sites along the route, (2) free soda drinks. Well, the porter was very entertaining so that was nice. I had two 9 oz cups of soda along the way, so I got three dollars worth of free soda, wow! No food is provided (oops, I just remebered you get a cookie). You don’t get the printed trip guide for free, you have to pay another $10 for it. I would regard the fair cost for the trip to be $100, which is equivalent to the least expensive ticket that can be purchased. The rail line follows the Animas River from Silverton to Durango for 98% of the route. You cross the river several times, so in that regard it does not matter what side you sit on, however, the famous side of the cliff pictures you see of the railroad consists of about a 1/4 mile stretch of the ride and so the best view of that means you need to get a seat on the right if going Durango to Silverton (uphill) or seat on the left if going Sillverton to Durango. When you ride the train it surprisingly rocks sideways more than usual, so that adds excitement to ride with a feeling of instability. You can ride both ways, but most people choose to ride the bus one way and rail the opposite way. I don’t think there would be any difference in enjoyment either way you go. The rail ride takes 3&1/2 hours one way. The average train speed is 15 mph. The railroad has arranged the times so that no matter which way you go, you always will spend two hours in Silverton which has more eateries per capita than any other place in the USA. No doubt a sweetheart deal between the tourist bureau and Silverton. So in summary, it is a very scenic ride, but you may feel as I did that the extra cost of the Presidential (or 1st class) tickets are a ripoff.
Expected it to be a bit in the boring side, but very pleasantly surprised! Super train experience, incredible scenery (I took >400 pics in 3 hrs), entertaining and informative train car host. We made the mistake of taking the train one way to Silverton, then taking the bus back to Durango to save a few hours since we kept hearing that taking the train round trip makes for a long taxing day. WRONG!!! We ended up being so jealous of the round trip folks. You just need to plan for a full day to go round trip, but it’s so beautiful, relaxing and entertaining that it’s worth it.