Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Durango was filled with cool things to explore. Not the least of those was the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum.

An old train engine with a man looking at it in the museum

Train engine 486

Old 42 is ready for you!

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Beautiful old Ford Convertible

Antique Fire Truck

Variety of taxidermy deer, elks bears etc. on display at the museum.

Lots of stuffed animals adorn the space

The D and SNG (Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum) is so much more than just a train museum. You can find just about any mode of transportation on display at this museum. And that is not all! Toss some taxidermy animals, antique revolvers and lots of artifacts from the wild west into the mix and you have something to interest everyone.

Hidden gem

Colorful bronze saddle known as the Skyhorse Saddle at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Skyhorse Saddle
This saddle was cast in bronzefrom a hand made leather saddle created by Lisa and Loren Skyhorse

Small wood speedboat on display at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

The Mary Jane

Canoes hang from ceiling and wood speedboat on floor.

Motor vs Manpower

The D and SNG is hidden away in the back of Durango’s rail yard. Once across the tracks you will find the 12,000 square foot museum created in 1998. Eight stalls of the 15 stall roundhouse, built in 1989, were used to create this facility.

Wooden seats and stuffed rams heads on display at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Rams Lineup

Huge moose head on the wall with bear skin under it as part of a display at the train museum

Bullwinkle the Moose – Where are Rocky, Natasha and Boris?

This roundhouse is the only narrow gauge roundhouse built in the twentieth century. It was the “silver lining” of the tragic 1989 roundhouse fire. In that fire the roundhouse that was built more than a century prior, in 1881, was destroyed. That led to building a facility with modern lighting, heat and machine shop.

Native American Artifacts

Tin Soldiers

With the larger structure in place they were able to open a Museum to share railroad memories with the world. Thanks to the donations of several families and old railroad workers they have a wonderful collection of artifacts that tell the history of railroading.

Enormous model train display at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Amazing 800 square foot model train display

Mr. Potato Head and other antique toys on display at the

When I was a kid, Mr. Potato Head used real potatoes!

One of the highlight is an 800 square foot model railroad that was donated as a shell and recreated by thousands of volunteer hours to illustrate the 1950s operations of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. This amazing display even has trains passing a Drive-In movie theater!

Interactive fun

Antique pistol on display that belonged to Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp’s pistol

Petite handgun with carving and ivory handle in a wood display box.

Ornate antique handgun

The lovingly restored Harper’s Family Car

You can indulge your inner child by exploring the cab of a locomotive, seeing the view from the fireman and engineer’s seats, and handle the levers and gauges they’ve only previously seen from a distance.

Light wood interior of an old sleeping car.

Sleeping Car of yore.

Light wood interior of a sleeping car showing a bed hanging from chains

Hanging bed

Cooking facility in a train car at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Kitchen car on old train

They have turned a baggage car that was used in the1969 movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” into a movie theatre.

Light wood interior of a kitchen car on an old train.

Kitchen car work space

An army green motorcycle on display at the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Antique Indian Motorcycle

If you want to get a feel for what traveling by rail was like in the 19th Century you can tour the business car B-7 that was built in 1880. This car was lovingly restored in 2001 as the owners’ private family train car.