Animas River Railway.
August 1989. From 1988 through about 1990 or 91 the D&S ran this railcar from Rockwood into the canyon. At one point the schedule called for two round trips per day from Rockwood to Elk Park. Many passengers were hikers heading to the various trailheads along the railroad, or guests of the Ah Wilderness or Tall Timber resorts. The lettering for Animas River Railway allowed the D&S to continue to claim to be all steam. The railcar was unreliable, which lead to its withdrawal from service. I remember the ride as a blast, a great way to see the most interesting part of the railroad without spending the whole day on the train. Since then it has been stored in Durango, painted grand gold, used for awhile as a switcher, and put back into service briefly when the forest fires of 2002 curtailed steam train service. The trailer is now used as an open first class car on the regular trains. My thanks to some of the posters on the NGDF who provided much of the above information. The White Pass & Yukon has a similar railcar.
