Several hundred people expected a scenic train ride through the San Juan Mountains and to stroll the streets of Silverton on Saturday. But those plans were disrupted by heavy rainfall that swept across Southwest Colorado over the weekend.
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad halted operations for two days because of the heavy rain and storm damage. Trains that had already departed for Silverton were turned around early as two tropical storms drenched the region, causing significant flooding in rivers and creeks throughout La Plata, San Juan and Archuleta counties.
“After the first round of storms came through, we experienced immediate problems getting our trains all the way through to Silverton,” said Jeff Johnson, general manager of D&SNG.
One trip made it to Silverton on Saturday, but safety concerns forced passengers to return to Durango by bus, Johnson said. The two later trains did not reach Silverton.
“We turned around prematurely and brought them back to Durango in anticipation of the weather growing worse – then we found ourselves unable to operate for two days, in any capacity,” he said.
On Saturday afternoon, in coordination with search and rescue teams and with assistance from Tall Timber Resort, the railroad dispatched an unscheduled diesel-powered train to Needleton to pick up 37 hikers emerging from Chicago Basin who were concerned they might have to spend the night in the canyon, Johnson said. The train returned to Durango late Saturday.
That same evening, crews discovered flood damage north of Needleton.
The Animas River rose more than 3 feet in a single day and another foot as heavy rain persisted, peaking at 6.8 feet as of Wednesday afternoon. Its flow rate, which typically ranges from 300 to 500 cubic feet per second, surged to 4,800 cfs on Saturday and reached 5,840 cfs by Tuesday afternoon.
The river overflowed in some areas, washing out the substructure and roadbed beneath a section of track north of Needleton, Johnson said. Repair work on that stretch was expected to take about four more days as of Wednesday.
By Monday, new roadbed damage north of Rockwood and continued heavy rain forced the railroad to cancel all trains. Further inspections on Tuesday revealed additional washouts north of Needleton, where the Animas River peaked near 6,300 cfs.
Fortunately, Johnson said, no other infrastructure was damaged. Everything else remains operational, and none of the bridges were affected.
The train resumed limited service on Tuesday, traveling only as far as the halfway point at Cascade Creek. Johnson expects full operations to resume next week.
“We believe that as long as the storms over the next few days don’t bring any surprises, we should be able to be back in Silverton within the next few days to finish out the full Silverton season,” he said. “That’s our plan. We’re working hard.”
jbowman@durangoherald.com
