Durango, Colorado.

It’s about time I got around to sharing my images from our visit to Durango in July 2021. In October 2021, I shared photos of the journey on the narrow-gauge railroad excursion from Durango to Silverton here.

A couple of days after our excursion, we visited downtown Durango and stopped at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) Museum. Crossing the tracks to the museum entrance, Engine 481 was just begging to be my opening image. In 2023, there’s just one coal-burning train left at D&SNG, which is number 481. The other trains have either switched to using oil or have been taken out of service. Engine 481 will keep using coal until its current period for using its flue (exhaust pipe) time expires. After that, it will eventually be changed to use oil instead of coal. More details about the 481 can be found here.

Probably the oldest engine on display at the museum is Engine 42. Previously numbered 420, the engine weighs in at 35 tons. It was one of only six of its class manufactured by Baldwin Locomotive Works. Baldwin was the world’s largest producer of steam locomotives and operated from 1825 to 1951 when it was merged with the Lima Locomotive Works.

Many families and old railroad workers have donated or provided artifacts that tell the history of railroading, especially on the Denver and Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) line. The 12,000-square-foot (1114 sq m) museum is the final result of a devastating fire that destroyed the D&SNG roundhouse in 1989. That roundhouse, constructed in 1881, was replaced by a 15-stall roundhouse that holds the distinction of being the only narrow gauge roundhouse built in the 20th century. The museum occupies eight of the stalls in the rebuilt facility.

So, I’m not good at taking notes, and I am not positive that this is the engineer’s view of Engine 42 when it is in operation. There are other engines on display at the museum, but these two images were captured within a few minutes of each other. Next time, I’ll take better notes. (Probably not! >grin<

In the museum, an 800-square-foot (74 sq m) area was reserved in 1998 to create a model railroad. The space for the model railroad was donated as a shell in 1998 and brought to life by thousands of volunteer hours. The model depicts the 1950s operations of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW), which was a major railroad in the American West.

The model railroad is operated by a team of volunteers who use a variety of techniques to create a realistic setting. The trains are powered by a computer-controlled system that allows them to run on a variety of tracks and through a variety of scenery. The model also includes a variety of sound effects, such as the sound of trains whistling and the sound of steam locomotives chugging.

The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum is a great place to learn about the history of the D&RGW and to experience the excitement of narrow gauge railroading. If you plan to take one of Colorado’s most popular train excursions between Durango and Silverton, be sure to leave some time in your schedule to visit the museum. Admission is free. More details about the museum can be found here. You can pixel-peep at the images in my gallery by visiting my Flickr album here.

John Steiner