To Ridgway.....the hard way. A Rio Grande Southern freight, with RGS 10-Wheeler #20 on point, makes the long, 162 mile trek from Durango to Ridgway, Colorado, via Mancos, Dolores, Rico and Placerville.....which is quite a hike considering the straight-line distance between the two terminals. This September 2021 re-enactment was staged eastbound on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, at Milepost 313.3 at a location called "Calico Cut."
The tall peaks of the San Juans in southwestern Colorado posed some monumental challenges for railroads attempting to link all of the key mining towns in the region. The D&RG had rails extending south from Montrose as far as Ridgway and Ouray, but there was no passable route south to Silverton or Durango despite the fact that Ouray and Silverton were a mere 15 miles apart. The building of the Rio Grande Southern was the eventual answer to this problem, but the detour required to link Ridgway and Ouray from Durango ended up being 162 rather spectacular miles. The line was completed in 1891, and for a couple of years, the line was a serious bonanza railroad. Then, the great Silver Panic of 1893 closed most of the mines overnight.....and the railroad was in financial trouble from then on until it ceased operation in 1952.
