Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad August 2023

Enjoy this video covering the world famous Durango & Silverton from early August 2023. We begin with a flurry of activity at the Durango Depot, where we watch the 8:15 AM diesel-powered run to Silverton depart town. Then from back behind the yard comes K-36 Number 482 and K-28 Number 473 to tie onto their lavish 15-car train. At 9 AM sharp, we take to the mainline for a beautiful chase across the Animas Valley. We follow the train all the way up to Rockwood, where 482 is cut off and run ahead of the passenger train. We say goodbye just a few seconds later, as 473 pulls the train out of Rockwood and onto the High Line to continue the run to Silverton. We conclude with a runby of the daily passenger train to Cascade Canyon at Shalona Lake, led by K-37 Number 493. As you can see, the D&S is a large, classic, bustling operation that is sure to please an railfan. Here's to the hard-working men and women of THE SILVERTON TRAIN! Rate. Comment. Subscribe. ENJOY!!! Copyright Nick Valdez Railroad Photography 2023.

[@reddog-ex4dx]

Thanks Nick, that was fun. It always brings a smile to my face watching all the passengers waving.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

I love that long bell 3 chime whistle on locomotive 493

[@JQNAH]

11:00 holy moly

[@johndavey72]

Thankyou Nick . You must rush around like a madman beating that train ! And l guess the single train was a "down hill " descent ? As always , a treat for us all .

[@philrisbridger919]

This is on my bucket list!

[@GaryLima-hr6zz]

❤cool

[@bobkonradi1027]

Interesting facts: Nearly all the cars on the railroad, and for sure all the enclosed cars, were built in 1881 or 1882. Now, they've been upgraded and modernized, such as with air brakes, but the base on them is 140 years old. They act like they're new. The steam engines were all built in 1925-26, so are 97 or 98 years old. They've never sat around in a museum or got rusty on a siding, they've been in continuous use for 97-98 years, They get regular maintenance and then a complete go-over every 13-1400 hours run time, per federal regulations, but they've been running on a daily or weekly basis for those 97-98 years. A few years ago the railroad started converting them from coal to oil burning for environmental purposes. I believe 5 of them now burn environmentally friendly waste oil. The D&S has 8 steam engines, which is one of the biggest fleets of steamers in the country. They recently purchased 4 diesel engines, mostly for miscellaneous use such as work trains, but as the opening of this video shows, they do have one train per day that's diesel powered, and they are able to give a $10.00 reduced price for a ticket for riders on it. For a family of 4 (man + wife and 2 kids) they can save $40 because diesels are less expensive to operate than the steamers. Enjoy this video. The D&S has been voted the nation's best scenic railroad now for 3 years in a row.

[@TheRealMercDave]

Interesting! In June of this year the double header would run all the way to Silverton and they would cut the lead engine off when they turned to go home.

[@carilynfirestone3438]

'Promo sm'