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| Above, yours truly with the Durango train at Rockwood Station last year. Photo by Mitch Geriminsky. |
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has filed a lawsuit against La Plata County after the county issued notices to the railroad to stop using Rockwood Station as an arrival/departure point.
The Journal reported:
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has filed a lawsuit against La Plata County in an effort to defend its increased use of the Rockwood Station about 15 miles north of Durango.
The Rockwood Station became D&SNG’s main arrival and departure point for excursions during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing up to 600 people to the small neighborhood daily and sparking neighborhood concerns. The county says the train’s heavy use of the station is in violation of county codes.
La Plata County issued notices to D&SNG in early May ordering the train to stop using the Rockwood Station as a major arrival/departure point, among other demands. The train responded with a lawsuit, arguing the county doesn’t have the legal authority to restrict the railroad’s operations at the Rockwood Station.
According to the lawsuit, filed by D&SNG and the railroad’s parent company American Heritage Railways Inc., the train is a public utility regulated by the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and the county is pre-empted by federal law from applying local land-use regulations on railroad facilities.
Trains have the power to erect infrastructure necessary for their operations, and D&SNG has a lawful pre-existing use of the station, one that extends about 140 years into the past, according to the lawsuit filed May 21.
When Mitch Geriminsky and I took a train ride to Cascade Canyon last year, our departure/arrival point was at Rockwood Station.
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| Above, the Durango train about to depart from Durango station in April. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It is interesting that the Durango train has used Rockwood Station for 140 years. This doesn't seem to bother those who are complaining. I wouldn't be surprised that they're probably usual complaining liberals who migrated to the area from California.
Currently, the Durango train is departing and arriving at its Durango station.
To read more, go here.
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