Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNGRR) is a 45-mile, 3-foot narrow gauge line that has run continuously between Durango and Silverton, Colorado since 1882. Originally built by the Denver & Rio Grande Railway to haul silver and gold ore out of the San Juan Mountains, the line was promoted as a scenic passenger route from the very beginning and today survives as one of the best-preserved relics of that 19th-century railroading empire. Its heritage status is formally recognized — the railroad is a National Historic Landmark and a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark — and its fleet still runs on vintage 1923-25 coal-fired steam locomotives paired with heated coaches and open-air gondola cars. Excursions carry passengers along the Animas River through the rugged San Juan National Forest to Cascade Canyon or all the way to the historic mining town of Silverton, with year-round departures and museums at each end of the line chronicling the region’s railroading and mining past.