Durango and Silverton Narrow Gage Railroad

We spent an entire day riding the Durango and Silverton Railroad.  The scenery and colors were fabulous even if the weather was a little on the chilly side.  We rode in a gondola car, which means it was open air, but it had the best views on the train, and as long as you were dressed warmly it wasn't too cold. 

The ride was three hours each direction with a two hour lunch break in Silverton.  I'm pretty sure that Silverton only exists now because the railroad dumps about 800 passengers a day in town for lunch. The train follows the path of the Animas River.

In one place called the high line the train tracks just barely hug the edge of the mountain.

All along the route fall was in full beauty. So I took a lot of pictures.

When we arrived in Silverton our only goal was to find somewhere warm for lunch.  We wandered into the Grand Imperial Hotel with several hundred other people and finally warmed up a bit.

After lunch we wandered around town and found a few spots of sunshine where we could warm up. There were a couple of really impressive buildings in town, but the town itself is only about three blocks long and two blocks wide.

Back on the train we were optimistic that it would be warmer on the way down the mountain, but it was still pretty cold.

The engine is puffing and ready to go.  When the engines are in use they keep them stoked constantly for a month at a time.

And one last classic shot as we leave Silverton.