DURANGO, Colo. — For the second time in less than two weeks, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has been hit by a rock slide, cutting off service to Silverton.
A post on the railroad’s Facebook page says the slide occurred Monday night at milepost 486.0 north of Needleton, and has covered the rail line “with a large amount of rock and debris, making train passage to Silverton impossible.” Crews are working to clear the slide, but the trains to Silverton scheduled for today (July 2) will only operate to Cascade Canyon. The railroad said it is working to restore service to Silverton “as soon as possible.”
Full service to Silverton had only been restored as of Friday, June 28, after a slide at milepost 485.9 was discovered on the morning of June 22 that also covered the track and created a small pond covering the right-of-way [see “Durango & Silverton restores full operations,” Trains News Wire, June 28, 2024.]
Two slides in two weeks this close together (distance-wise)? If I was the RR, I’d be wondering if the whole hillside was gonna go…
At least nobody was in the area at the time!