Sunrise in Silverton, Colorado finds members of the Durango Railroad Historical Society hostling their Baldwin C-18 Locomotive for a day-long, mixed extra photo excursion to Durango. It's not often that you can photograph trains in Silverton during the early morning hours, as the equipment rarely overnights on this end of the line. During the annual Railfest event at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad however, there are special excursions which do sometimes operate in the early morning and the late afternoon, when the lighting can be both interesting and challenging. In this scene, shot just before 8AM local time, the rising sun bathes the hills to the north of town in a golden glow, while a tall ridgeline just to the east will keep the town and the railroad yard in shadow for almost another hour. By the time the sun begins to fall on the rails in Silverton, the 315 and her train will be making run-bys at the Animas Bridges, some 7 miles to the south.
The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad are all that remains of the legendary Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge system. Here you'll find some of my favorites from these two beautiful railways.
