Steam & Excursion > Why I am glad some of the D&RGW NG survived

Folks:

Last Saturday, 07/19, I took my 4 year old grandson on a one way trip on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR. We took the third train out, leaves Durango at 9:30. We had a great trip, starting with the young lady at will call, the gift shop employees, the old west "sheriff" on the platform, the conductor and the rest of the on-board staff. All were polite and professional. The ride was great, even with a thunderstorm about 40 minutes south of Silverton. Even with the rain, I still feel the open car is the best way to ride the line. I am thankful the D&RGW decided in the early 1960s to preserve the line and that the current management of the D&SNGRR keeps alive the spirit of the narrow gauge. Otherwise I would not have been able to share steam and old fashioned trains with my grandson. The ride was excellent, virtually no slack action with smooth starts and stops, even with the extra stops made along the way to unload rafters and hikers.

Photo 1, The conductor takes our tickets
Photo 2, My grandson enjoys the scene as we pull into Silverton. Notice two boxcars for hikers/rafters and their gear.
Photo 3, Crowds by the first first train out of Durango watch our arrival. This train left shortly for Durango after we arrived. The 8:45 train was waiting on the wye as we pulled in to Silverton.

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Great shots and we should definitely be glad that people worked so hard to save this treasure for future generations to enjoy.

Since you pointed out the boxcars, that allowed me to notice how much shorter the boxcars are than the coaches. Why would they have made the boxcars so short since clearly the coaches demonstrate there was clearance to be at least a couple feet taller? I'd have thought they would have made them as large as possible to give them greater capacity.

Thanks for the photos and for those who may respond to my question above.

The boxcars of this era were built for dense freight that the 25-ton trucks could carry on that wooden frame, and so there really was no need for a taller car. But the coaches are all taller to accommodate passengers with their large hats, and get clear air and light through the side windows and clerestory.

Edit: Also note that they needed to be short enough to allow the brake wheel and brakemen to walk across the top.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/14 11:44 by nicknack.

Thanks for the post ... the Durango&Silverton is a class act ... glad you had the op to share with your grandson ... ya never know how those special times/events will play out down the road ... looks like he had a great time (and obviously you did too!) ...

Odyssey
Evergreen, CO

Your post and the message of thanks for those who managed to preserve this line years ago is a good one. Some things are worth keeping for reasons we might not imagine at the time, like the special time you had with your grandson.

Steve Mitchell
http://www.yardgoatimages.com

It appears D&S has a roaring hiking and fishing flagstop business going this summer. Have never seen two baggage boxcars on a train there before.
Too bad they have not so far renovated or built an authentic baggage car or two for a better train aesthetic, more capacity.