Day 1 - Sunday 10/15/2023 - Travel Day and Catching the D&S Daily Train
I pretty much followed the same plan as what I did for the Victorian Iron Horse Roundup trip in the fall of 2021. I took an 8:45am flight direct to Albuquerque and rented a car from there. Saving 12 odd hours of driving is amazing! But ABQ costs a bit more to fly into than other major airports for some odd reason.
I left my house at 6:45am and at Houston Hobby airport a little after 7:30am. Security was oddly busy but not much of a delay found me at the gate in plenty of time. I was on an 8:45am flight direct to Albuquerque which was on time. The flight was almost completely full if not completely. Southwest’s inflight entertainment had the nfl network so I was able to watch the 8:30am London game on the little over 2 hr flight. We landed in ABQ at 9:50 (local time).
I was carrying my usual carry on suitcase and the Temba hiking camera backpack on the trip. Both packed a little heavier than I intended… I got the rental car and started to head north through Albuquerque. Just like for the Victorian Iron Horse trip two years before, I stopped at Target to pick up a few supplies and hit McDonald’s for lunch (not gourmet but reliable and cost effective) . I had not driven up HW 550 in a long while. It was a bit boring but it was a very good road to drive 4 lane almost all the way. In 3.5 hours, I was into Durango.
Got into Durango around 3:00pm and went straight to the hotel. I was at the Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn. For some reason, it is on the cheaper side of places to stay in Durango and is in walking distance of the Durango depot. Luckily, I was able to check in. My room was perfect with a little balcony that overlooks the train yard. It was nice to leave that door open in the evening and listen to the sounds of a working steam railroad. I walked down to the D&S station and got my ticket for the charter the next day. I then checked out the museum a little bit and then window shopped a bit in the shops of Durango, killing some time.
Now around 4:00pm, I headed out to scout locations for tomorrow morning. I parked at Durango’s rotary park and walked the trail along the tracks all the way across the Animas River to the Durango Library and saw some decent spots. With the car so closely parked at the Animas Brewing Company, I had to step in for a pint while I waited on daily Silverton train. So at 5:30pm, I grabbed a Gold King Sour to wait for the trains ~6:15pm arrival. About 6 I finished up the beer and walked across the Animas River to find the shadows pretty long so I retreated to the crossing by the brewery. There was about six other guys there that were running a special the next day. The passenger train was a little late and so it was in the shadows anyway but 493 was on it! This was actually my first time to see 493 running!
After that, I got gas, grab a meal at McDonald’s and headed back to the room. There I repacked a bit and ate dinner, while watching them turn the train to my balcony. Got to bed about 10:00pm while very excited about the day to come.
I left my house at 6:45am and at Houston Hobby airport a little after 7:30am. Security was oddly busy but not much of a delay found me at the gate in plenty of time. I was on an 8:45am flight direct to Albuquerque which was on time. The flight was almost completely full if not completely. Southwest’s inflight entertainment had the nfl network so I was able to watch the 8:30am London game on the little over 2 hr flight. We landed in ABQ at 9:50 (local time).
I was carrying my usual carry on suitcase and the Temba hiking camera backpack on the trip. Both packed a little heavier than I intended… I got the rental car and started to head north through Albuquerque. Just like for the Victorian Iron Horse trip two years before, I stopped at Target to pick up a few supplies and hit McDonald’s for lunch (not gourmet but reliable and cost effective) . I had not driven up HW 550 in a long while. It was a bit boring but it was a very good road to drive 4 lane almost all the way. In 3.5 hours, I was into Durango.
Got into Durango around 3:00pm and went straight to the hotel. I was at the Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn. For some reason, it is on the cheaper side of places to stay in Durango and is in walking distance of the Durango depot. Luckily, I was able to check in. My room was perfect with a little balcony that overlooks the train yard. It was nice to leave that door open in the evening and listen to the sounds of a working steam railroad. I walked down to the D&S station and got my ticket for the charter the next day. I then checked out the museum a little bit and then window shopped a bit in the shops of Durango, killing some time.
Now around 4:00pm, I headed out to scout locations for tomorrow morning. I parked at Durango’s rotary park and walked the trail along the tracks all the way across the Animas River to the Durango Library and saw some decent spots. With the car so closely parked at the Animas Brewing Company, I had to step in for a pint while I waited on daily Silverton train. So at 5:30pm, I grabbed a Gold King Sour to wait for the trains ~6:15pm arrival. About 6 I finished up the beer and walked across the Animas River to find the shadows pretty long so I retreated to the crossing by the brewery. There was about six other guys there that were running a special the next day. The passenger train was a little late and so it was in the shadows anyway but 493 was on it! This was actually my first time to see 493 running!
After that, I got gas, grab a meal at McDonald’s and headed back to the room. There I repacked a bit and ate dinner, while watching them turn the train to my balcony. Got to bed about 10:00pm while very excited about the day to come.
