Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad locomotive 482 leads the daily passenger train as it passes the Animas River on the way back to Durango, Colorado on October 22nd. 2025.
D&SNG No. 482 is a K-36 class 2-8-2 “Mikado” type narrow gauge steam locomotive. It was originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1925 for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) and is now preserved as a permanent resident of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) in Durango, CO.
The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 miles (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.
The route was originally opened in 1882 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) to transport silver and gold ore mined from the San Juan Mountains. The line was the “San Juan” extension of the D&RG 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line from Antonito, Colorado, to Durango. The last train to operate into Durango from the east was on December 6, 1968.
The line from Durango to Silverton has run continuously since 1881, although it is now a tourist and heritage line hauling passengers, and is one of the few places in the US which has seen continuous use of steam locomotives.
Tech Info: DJI Air 2S Drone, RAW, 22mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO 100