A look straight down from the conductor's side window of the DSNG 107 at the Animas River roughly 200 feet below us. We are headed southbound to Durango as the shadows creep their way into the can... (more)
Curving up and around the privately owned and man-made Shalona Lake just south of Rockwood is train 463 with K-28 473 and K-37 493 leading the final push up to their station stop.
All about depth perception... Flying a couple of hundred feet above track level we see the 15-car Durango bound 464 wrapping itself around Horseshoe Curve before exiting the High Line and making a... (more)
K-37 class 493 walks the tightrope through the Animas River Canyon with train 464 back to Durango. K-37s were the largest of the narrow gauge 2-8-2s and pre-D&SNG were not allowed to operate on th... (more)
How high? 238 feet to be exact. That's how high above the Animas River train 261 finds itself with the last coal burner, 481, taking point.
After a summer exploring angles of this line in the remote San Juans, I came to a simple conclusion for these high-angle shots: fly the drone, don't climb. This was an angle I scoped out over the ... (more)
Atop the famous rock overlooking Shalona Lake and the Silverton Branch, 476 snakes its way into Rockwood delivering a scene straight out of the late 20th century.
D&S train 462 departs Rockwood as it heads south (railroad timetable east) for Durango.
D&S train 261 traverses the High Line with John Hillier at the controls.
D&S 463 pulls up to the station stop at Rockwood.
Durango & Silverton train 464 pulls up to the station stop at Rockwood.
Durango & Silverton 476 threads the needle through a tight cut at Rockwood, returning home light after double heading with 473.
Unfortunately for those familiar with CW McCall's song "The Silverton Train," the Animas River Gorge only finds itself 230-ish feet from rail to river, as opposed to the 400-feet McCall ... (more)
D&S 473 goes through the Rockwood Cut while arriving in Rockwood on the return trip back to Durango.