Category: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad

The Durango and Silverton train has been in continuous operation for more than 130 years and offers round-trip, daylong rides to Silverton in the summer and half-day rides through Cascade Canyon in the winter. The railroad also does themed rides such as the Cowboy Poet Train, the Fall Photo Experience and the Polar Express.

Durango Winter Photographer’s Train and Night Photo Shoot

Photo: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.
Photo: Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

There’s still time, and  there’s still space, so there’s still a chance to get on the Durango & Silverton Winter Photographer’s Train this Sunday. This trip sells out every year, but there are still a few coach seats left, although spots are all booked up for the Night Photo Shoot in the D&SNG rail yard on Saturday, Feb. 15.

2014 Winter Photographer’s Train

8 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 16

The Durango & Silverton railroad offers a few photography trips each year that give shutterbugs — professional and amateur alike — a chance to ride the rails through the pristine wilderness of the Animas River valley and the San Juan Mountains then deboard to take photos of the antique engine pulling the train through the winter landscape.

Sunday’s train will feature a K-36 steam engine pulling three heated coach cars as well as the first-class, glass-ceiling Knight Sky car that will serve as a classroom for a workshop during the trip. The train will stop in the woods, and passengers must be physically able to climb on and off the train to take photos. It will be a long day — the train departs at 8 a.m. and returns at 5:30 p.m. — so passengers-slash-photographers should be prepared for the long haul.

After the train returns to Durango, photogs are invited to meet up at Brew Pub & Kitchen about a block from the depot. Passengers can warm up with happy-hour prices on drinks and appetizers and chat about the shots they got and the ones that got away.

Call 970-247-2733 or 1-888-872-4607 to make your reservations now.

Night Photo Shoot

The night photo shoot is booked up this year, but you can always put your name on the wait list and cross your fingers. For future reference, the night shoot gives photographers a rare chance to capture the Durango railroad’s engines and passenger cars in the D&S rail yard. The event is limited to 20 photographers and only offered to Winter Photo Train passengers. Call 970-247-2733 or 1-888-872-4607 to be put on the waiting list.

by dgoquality