Who Are Mattie & Maude?

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is a cut above the normal, everyday “excursion train” experience.  An honest-to-goodness full service railroad, it carries mainly passengers from Durango to Silverton and back, and also picks up and delivers hikers, bikers, and others along the way.  They do that because for a good chunk of their right-of-way, there is no way to access those hiking trails, camping sites, etc. that are along the Animas River, except by train.  They even sell passes for those who take advantage of those rides to and from civilization.

The passenger service is all steam-powered, using coal that is mined just a few miles from Durango.  The coal is shoveled by hand into the boiler by an honest-to-goodness fireman, and water stops are done a couple of times each direction, using old-time water tanks that are kept full by the natural mountain streams that are in the area.

During those stops, the engineer checks out the engine and oils and lubes joints, etc.  The conductor walks to the rear of the train and acts as flagman should another train come our way (per railroad rules).  And we passengers all wait a few minutes while the engine tender is refilled with water and then continues on its way.

The railroad does have diesel engines.  They also have freight cars and, I presume, haul freight to some of the wide spots along the line.  They employ about 280 people during the peak tourist summer months, and about 80 year-round.  Being a narrow gauge line, the cars and engines are a little smaller than the “regular” railroad equipment, but function in the same way.  The gauge of a railroad is the distance between the tracks.  The gauge of the D & S is 3 feet.  “Regular gauge is 4 feet, 8 ½ inches.  If you’d like to know more about the D & S railroad, Wiki has a good article on it.

Along the 45 mile trip to Silverton, we passed through the Animas River valley, into steep cuts into the sides of mountains, and through some grassy areas that had a building or two, campsites, or livestock.  The scenery was spectacular, and the trip was well worth it.  After about 3 ½ hours, we chugged into Silverton.  The tracks go right up a street into the main tourist area of town.  We got off and walked the approximate one block to our hotel, the Grand Imperial Hotel in Silverton.

Classy, recently remodeled, yet with the old charm of slightly uneven floors, antique woodwork, antique furniture, and that “elegant” smell, we checked in and were helped by a gracious clerk who carried our bag to our room (29 steps to the second floor…no elevator), and showed us around a bit.  There was a restaurant/saloon attached to the hotel, so we took our evening meal there after we wandered the streets of Silverton awhile.

The next morning, we found a breakfast and lunch eatery…Mattie & Maud’s.  We never saw Mattie or Maud; rather, a somewhat rotund older gentleman in suspenders and ordinary garb met us as we came in and told us to order at the counter…then find a place to sit.  We ordered our breakfast and waited a bit.  He brought out, after a few minutes, a good meal, and we enjoyed our time there.  The guy may be on to something…no wait staff…just cooks, himself, and a dishwasher.  Maybe Mattie and Maud are in the back counting the money…

We toured more of the town and had a sandwich lunch in a restaurant that was, until 1947, a house of prostitution.  The sandwiches were fine…prices were a little high everywhere in Silverton.  And service there and elsewhere was good to excellent.  We tipped well most of the time.

Our train left at 1:30pm.  We made sure we were there in plenty of time, and boarded the train in the same car we rode in to Silverton.