Durango Trains Converting To Oil From Coal

Above, an oil-burning steam locomotive departing Durango Station. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I took a ride on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad last year, the train I rode was converted from coal to oil.

One of the conductors I talked to said that their source of coal would be played out in few years, so they had to start converting their locomotives to oil-burners.

Well, there's more to it than that.

A wildfire was started in 2018 that was blamed on coal embers of a Durango train. 

So now, the conversion of coal-burning engines to oil burning engines is proceeding. The only thing I will miss is the smell of burning coal.

According to the Durango Telegraph:

The age of burning coal to fire up the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has come to an end. Adapting to drought and heightened wildfire risk, this summer marks the first time in the D&SNG’s history where it will rely solely on oil-burning and diesel engines.

“It’s a new era,” Jeff Johnson, general manager of the D&SNG, said Monday. “Things change, but that’s part of progress.”

Throughout its 140-year history, the D&SNG has shoveled coal into its steam engines to power locomotives to Silverton and back, a 90-mile roundtrip gaining nearly 3,000 feet in elevation.

But in recent years, the D&SNG has received significant pushback from members of the community concerned about environmental impacts: namely the wildfire risk posed by coal-burning engines and the ensuing air pollution that has long vexed residents on the south side of town.

 To read more, go here.