The ''San Juan Express'' (also known as simply the ''San Juan'') was a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

train that ran on the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fr ...

(D&RGW) route from

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

via Chama,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

;

Cumbres Pass Cumbres Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado, United States. The pass is traversed by State Highway 17 and the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad. The highway has a moderate 5.8% approach on the north side ...

; and Antonito, Colorado to

Alamosa Alamosa is the home rule city that is the county seat of Alamosa County, Colorado, United States. Alamosa is located along the Rio Grande. The city population was 9,806 in the 2020 United States census. The city is the commercial center of th ...

, Colorado. The train ran from February 11, 1937 until January 31, 1951 as train numbers 115 and 116, though towards the end of the passenger service it took on the number 215 and 216. The railroad line was closed by the D&RGW in 1968 and much of the narrow gauge trackage has since been abandoned. A surviving portion of the narrow gauge track in the route is the long

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, is a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge Heritage railway, heritage railroad that operates on of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United Sta ...

between Antonito and Chama which calls its westbound train the ''Colorado Limited'' and its eastbound train the ''New Mexico Express''. The line from Antonito to Alamosa is now

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

only and belongs to the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad. Normally, from Alamosa to Chama, a K-36 (or K-37) class locomotive, either 482, 483, 484, 485, 488, or 489 would haul the 4 to 5 car consist. At Chama, the K-36 and their crew would be swapped out with a K-28 and their crews would take over from Chama, to Durango. On the return journey it would be the other way around. However, there is photographic evidence of a K-36 locomotive hauling the train the entire length. Normally, the train would be four cars long, which consisted of a

railway post office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service and used specifically for staff to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO w ...

(or RPO) car, a baggage bar, a passenger car, and a

parlor car A parlor car (or parlour car outside the U.S.) is a type of passenger car (rail), passenger coach that provides superior comforts and amenities compared to a standard coach. History Parlor cars came about on United States railroads to address ...

. However, there is photographic evidence of the train having as many as 8 cars.

Frequently used engines

One of the most frequently used locomotives on this route was and still is the steam wheel arrangement K-36 2-8-2 "Mikado" type. Other locomotives used on this route included the

K-27 K27 or K-27 may refer to: * K-27 (Kansas highway) * , a corvette of the Royal Navy * Kandi K27, a Chinese city car * Rio Grande class K-27, an American steam locomotive * Sonata in G, K. 27, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart * {{Letter-NumberComb ...

, the K-28, and the K-37 classes, along with the C-18 on occasion. One K-27 and one K-37 are used on the Cumbres and Toltec, with C-18

Rio Grande 315 Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 315 is a class "C-18" "Consolidation" type narrow-gauge steam locomotive that was originally built for the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1895. It was purchased by the Den ...

periodically visiting both the Durango and Silverton and the Cumbres and Toltec railroads.

Sections used today

The

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, is a Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge Heritage railway, heritage railroad that operates on of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United Sta ...

uses the portion from Antonito to Chama. The portion from Durango to Silverton (not part of the San Juan Express) is run by the

Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft gauge railways, 3 ft (914 mm) Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge heritage railway, heritage railroad that operates on of track between Durango, C ...

. The line from Antonito to Alamosa is now

only and belongs to the San Luis and Rio Grande Railroad.

References

*Illustrated book of Steam and Rail, ''Garrat, Colin and Matthews, Max-Wade'', Barnes & Noble Books, New York (2003)

External links

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad

D&RGW K-36 class
{{DRGW named trains 1937 establishments in the United States 1951 disestablishments in the United States Passenger trains of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Passenger rail transportation in Colorado Passenger rail transportation in New Mexico Railway services introduced in 1937

Frequently used engines

Sections used today

See also

References

External links