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Clearing the air D&SNG pivots from coal, moves toward cleaner future by Jonathan Romeo
T
he 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. Over the years, the train has tried to improve the situation. To mitigate fire concerns, it has put significant resources in clearing vegetation along its tracks and even has its own fleet of pop cars and a helicopter to put out fires. To help with the smoke, in the mid-2000s, the D&SNG installed scrubbers to reduce the ash emitted from running the engines at night. The situation improved only slightly, however. For many, the train needed to transition from burning coal to a cleaner fuel, such as oil or diesel, which both emit less pollution and hold a lesser risk of starting a wildfire. But for years, D&SNG owner Al Harper maintained the train would never veer from tradition. These calls for a cleaner future, however, were taken to new heights after the 416 Fire in 2018 burned more than 54,000 acres north of Durango, putting homes at risk, forcing evacuations and causing drastic economic losses. Just months after the fire, mudslides off the burn scar also damaged homes and caused a near total fish kill in the Animas River. From the outset, witnesses said the fire started just after a D&SNG locomotive passed by, and those suspicions were confirmed a year later when investigators pinned the blaze on the train. Though the D&SNG denies it’s responsible, the fire forced Harper’s hand to rethink the train’s future. Ultimately, he vowed to never be shut down again by wildfire risk and committed to revamping his fleet with oil and diesel engines. And it appears the D&SNG has made good on its promise. “I’m proud we were able to deliver on the timeline we planned,” Johnson said. “It’s an incredible stress reliever for all of us to have oil and diesel engines available.” A fiery relationship It took just one year to carve and blast through the steep granite walls of the Animas River Canyon to complete the rail line from Durango to Silverton in 1882. Though its primary purpose was to serve as a lifeline to the hundreds of mines that pocked the San Juan Mountains around Silver-
For the first time in the D&SNG’s history, rides this summer will rely soley on oil and diesel burning engines. In recent years, the D&SNG has responded to increasing drought and wildfire danger in the region. Oil and diesel engines hold less of a wildfire risk than coal burning locomotives./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire ton, even in the early days, the train catered to tourists. As the mining industry waned, and highways took over as the main route of travel, tourism on the D&SNG gained a stronger economic foothold, especially after a number of
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6 n June 24, 2021
telegraph
Hollywood films featured the train in the 1950s and 1960s. By the end of the century, the D&SNG had become Durango and Silverton’s top tourist draw. Today, in a normal year with full service, locomotives take nearly 200,000 4
