Coal-fired Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad converts to oil
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has debuted its first locomotive that runs on oil, a more environmentally friendly fuel source that holds less fire risk than a traditional coal-burning engine.
For the past two years, the D&SNG’s crews have worked to convert the No. 493, an early 1900s coal-burning locomotive, to be able to run off oil. It’s the first of what’s expected to be several conversions from coalfired to oil-burning engines, as the city’s top tourist attraction braces itself for the future.
“We need to be prepared and just recognize the changing climate,” owner Al Harper said in an interview with The Durango Herald.
D&SNG has prepared for a couple of years to convert some locomotives to burn oil and turn away from coal. Coal-burning engines can emit small cinders from their smokestacks and can start fires.
Harper has said it’s important to have the option of running oil-powered locomotives during extreme drought.
This issue came to a head in summer 2018, when drought, high fire danger and the 416 fire caused the D&SNG to shut down for more than 40 days. Since then, Harper has said the railroad would have to adapt.
“You’re talking to a guy who 15 years ago said I’ll never have anything beside coal engines,”
Harper said. “But we have to evolve. We all have to evolve. That’s just part of life.”
Locomotive No. 493 was built in 1902 and ran for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad all over Colorado. After more than an estimated 7,500 work-hours and $625,000 in materials and labor, it will make its official debut Saturday.
“It’s a pretty proud moment,” said Jeff Jackson, chief operating officer of American Heritage Railways, D&SNG’s parent company.
Randy Babcock, D&SNG’s mechanical foreman, said there’s not much of an operational difference, though No. 493 won’t require someone to shovel coal. Crews gained experience last year on an oil engine when the SP-18 locomotive was brought in on loan.
For passengers, the experience will be largely unchanged. Each locomotive billows iconic steam out its stack, blows its nostalgic whistle through town and provides riders with the same breathtaking views of the San Juan Mountains.
But for a community that has continually called for the D&SNG to burn a cleaner fuel, especially after the 416 fire, the conversion to oil has much bigger significance.
“I’m really pleased the train is rolling out a new oil-burning engine and is working to convert another as well,” said La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt. “The train is an important part of our economic engine, and it’s critical that these
new units be used to avoid future disasters.”
More than a year after the 416 fire, the U.S. Forest Service investigators last summer confirmed community speculation and announced that a cinder from a coal-fired D&SNG locomotive started the blaze north of Durango.
The D&SNG has denied it started the fire, which burned more than 54,000 acres, mostly in the Hermosa Creek watershed. And a lengthy court battle is ensuing as the U.S. government seeks to recoup an estimated $25 million from the railroad for firefighting costs and damages.
In many ways, though, the 416 fire pushed the D&SNG to enter an era of more eco-friendly fuel sources.
For years, public sentiment favored coal-fired engines.
But Harper said about 80% of riders don’t come for a coal-fired locomotive, they come for the steam-engine experience, which oil will provide.
It’s unclear how many of D&SNG’s nine locomotives will convert to oil. Already, crews have started on a second conversion.
But for Harper, whose family has owned the railroad since 1998, the D&SNG will maintain a presence with coal-fired engines, if only to preserve the tradition of the 130-year-old railroad.
“Part of this evolution,” Harper said, “is to make sure the railroad has the equipment it needs for all conditions, at all times, so it can be here another 137 years.”