JayRay Loc: Missouri

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad was voted the best scenic train ride in the USA in 2020 in a USA Today Newspaper poll. It also won this award in 2017 and 2019.
It is a great narrow gauge coal-fired locomotive train ride.

AzGriz Loc: Sedona, Arizona

Why do you think it beats out the Durango to Silverton Scenic Trip?
Loren

JayRay Loc: Missouri

Both train rides are great and beautiful train rides. However, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad (CTSRR) is a longer one-way route: 64 miles, 6.5 hour train ride from Chama, NM to Antonito, CO (or the other way) with a lunch stop in Osier, CO and a one-hour return bus ride. The shorter Durango Silverton (D&S) one-way train ride is 45 miles and 3.5 hours from Durango to Silverton (or the other way) with return by train or bus. The CTSRR route has more varied scenery (desert, mountain, forest, tunnels, canyon, etc. with broader grand views than the D&S which is routed more in a (beautiful) canyon and tight forest. The CTSRR route goes through a much more remote and natural area, where the D&S closely parallels Highway 550 (which includes a lot of developed areas) for approximately 17 miles (38% of the route). The CTSRR track is like a curving snake with sharp 20 degree curves where the second longest piece of track is only 1.5 miles long, crossing the Colorado-New Mexico border 11 times. The D&S has long stretches of straight track adjacent to Highway 550. The one-way elevation change on the CTSRR is 4,279 feet versus 2,768 feet on the D&S. The D&S one-way ride from Durango (El. 6,520') to Silverton (El. 9,288') is all up hill. The CTSRR is a higher elevation with the one-way ride from Chama (El. 7,863') up to Cumbres Pass (El. 10,015') and then down to Antonito ( El. 7,888') gives you a more varied ride of the steam locomotive pulling hard to the summit and then coasting down from the summit. On the CTSRR I recommend taking the Chama to Antonito train ride direction, as traveling in that direction they use double-headed coal-fired steam locomotives for the 4% steep continuous grade for the long 13 miles from Chama up to Cumbres Pass. It is very impressive. The steepest continuous grades on the D&S are mostly 2.5% with a few short 3% grades. The CTSRR consists of all coal-fired steam locomotives. Unfortunately, the D&S is currently converting their coal burning locomotives (over a several year period) to burn oil, rather than coal, and they have actually added two diesel engines to pull their trains if their steam locomotives are unavailable. If you do ride the D&S in the future, I hope you get a coal-fired steam locomotive rather than an oil-fired steam locomotive, OR worse, a (unauthentic) diesel locomotive! The D&S does have a nice museum and round house with turntable in Durango. The CTSRR has an interesting rail yard, rotary snow plow, and coal tipple in Chama. I believe that the D&S receives more overall publicity than the CTSRR only because the CTSRR is in a more remote location.

newsguygeorge Loc: Victoria, Texas

JayRay’s delineation of the differences is a fine exercise in contrast. However, having ridden both routes, with the first Durango-Silverton trip in 1957, I would assert that they are so different that comparison them is folly.