I’m not sure where we first heard about the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It could have been when we passed through Durango, Colorado, on a trip to Mesa Verde National Park or an online article. Either way, the prospect of traveling up a narrow canyon on a historical railway appealed to both of us.

We previously enjoyed our ride on the White Pass & Yukon Railway, which leaves from Skagway, Alaska, and were hoping for a similarly snowy experience as we drove toward Durango.

Durango & Silverton Railroad Museum

We arrived the afternoon before our scheduled ride, which allowed us some time to check out the free museum near the depot.

The museum was an interesting mix of local artifacts, only some of which were railroad related. We poked around inside for about 1.5 hours and then headed to our lodging. We needed to be back the next morning to catch our train.

Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad: Winter Train Ride

We arrived a little early the morning of our scheduled train ride, which allowed us to take advantage of the free Sunday street parking.

The depot was busier than expected with excited passengers ready to board the train. I picked up our reserved box lunches at the depot window, and we waited for the boarding announcement.

After a slight delay, the speakers crackled to life. Unfortunately, the steam locomotive had an issue so the crew had to switch to the diesel locomotive for our trip. We were disappointed, but the company graciously provided a discount to all passengers for the last-minute switch.

We boarded the 21 & over car named Yankee Girl, found our reserved table and seats, and we were soon chugging through downtown Durango.

As we headed north, the town faded away and we followed the Animas River. The route continued to climb and, although there wasn’t much snow, the views were very nice.

After about an hour we arrived at the Cascade Canyon Wye — the turnaround point for our journey.

We were free to explore the area on foot, including a nice suspension bridge over the river and a bonfire inside a pavilion.

It was a picturesque stop, and there was even a small amount of snow on the ground. 

After the all-aboard, the train began its descent back down to Durango. The attendant in our car gave some railroad and local history throughout the ride in addition to serving non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks.

Before we knew it, we arrived back in Durango safe and sound.

Takeaways from our Winter Train Ride

Based on our experience, here are a couple things to note:

• We were really looking forward to the winter train experience and the conditions looked good when we reserved our tickets, but there wasn’t as much snow as we had hoped. Keep an open mind as you head into your journey – they can’t control the weather or environmental conditions.
• Likewise, we were looking forward to the steam engine experience and were disappointed they had to switch to the diesel engine. While we appreciated the refund to compensate for the altered experience, if you have your heart set on a steam engine for your ride, know that they can make that change at any point.
• We paid a bit more to reserve our seats in a 21+ car not for the option to purchase alcoholic drinks but so we were exclusively among adults. Given the number of families and small children we saw boarding the train – and in various states of happiness when we were let off to explore at the turnaround point – this was the right decision for us, and we were happy to have that option.
• Our box lunch was just OK, both in terms of the quality of food and the value. I would recommend packing a lunch versus paying for the box lunch.

Overall, it was a fun experience that I would recommend to train and history enthusiasts.