San Juan Line
| Alamosa–Durango Line | |
|---|---|
Denver and Rio Grande freight train near Chama, NM, 1968.
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| Overview | |
| Other name(s) | San Juan Line |
| Locale | Colorado and New Mexico, United States |
| Operation | |
| Owner |
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| Technical | |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Old gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
The Alamosa–Durango Line or San Juan Line was a railroad line built by the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, following the border between the U.S. states of Colorado and New Mexico, in the Rocky Mountains. The line was originally built as a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge line between its namesake cities of Alamosa and Durango. However, through the years portions of the line were re-gauged multiple times and both narrow-gauge and 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge extensions and branches were built. Three portions of this line survive today: the now standard-gauge portion from Alamosa to Antonito, Colorado, and two narrow-gauge portions operated as heritage railways.
The railroad reached Durango in 1881, with a branch built north to Silverton by 1882. With an increasing amount of agricultural commodities being hauled out of the area and onto the national standard-gauge rail network, in 1901 the section from Alamosa to Antonito was converted to a three-track dual gauge, allowing both 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge and narrow gauge to run. This was followed by a standard-gauge branch south to Farmington, New Mexico, built in 1902, which was converted to 3 ft (914 mm) gauge in 1923. In 1970, after the narrow-gauge portions of the line were completely abandoned, the Antonito–Alamosa section was converted again, to a traditional 2-rail standard-gauge line, becoming the last 3-rail portion of the D&RGW system to be eliminated.
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Wikipedia