Railroad Boomtown

a scattering of homes, a buffer between the commercial distrist and residential section stretching eastward toward the mesa. The Boulevard (today's Third Avenue), the church and residential crown jewel neighborhood, would first catch the visitor's attention. Located away from the noisy downtown, it offered a wonderful view of the mountains and valley and the gentile and refined quietness so beloved by Victorian Americans.

At its birth it would be called "magic," "booming metropolis," "second Leadville," "a monument to the planters of Empire," the "new wonder in the Southwest," and other flowery epithets. Today, we call it Durango.
The Denver & Rio Grande's vision for its new town was sweeping. In a day and time when western towns just grew, Durango was a planned community. Along the first bench beside the Animas River would be the business section with First Street (later Main Avenue) its focal point.
Up the hill on Second Street would be small businesses and

        Silverton lay approximately 100 miles northwest of Alamosa. When tracklayers resumed laying rails, however, they surprised almost everyone by proceeding almost due south out of the D&RG's new town. The circuitous route they followed led them on a jouney through the most rugged terrain yet traversed by an American railroad.
        Palmer's lieutenants had disagreed about the most suitable route for some time. John Aden McMurtrie, the D&RG's chief engineer, favored the well-traveled route up the Rio Grande and over either Stony or Cunningham Pass to reach Silverton. It would be the least expensive route to build by far. Others favored a route up the South Fork of the Rio Grande and over the Continental Divide to the Pagosa Hot Springs. The railroad's inner circle of Palmer, Alexander C. Hunt and William A. Bell, however, apparently thought for some time that the line would go where it eventually did.
        On November 21, 1879, contracts were let for grading and bridging from Antonito to the Rio de las Animas, a goal they were

Across the river sat the smelter, Durango's industrial heart and largest employer. Nearby coal mines provided jobs and fuel for homes and businesses. The railroad, that desire of every nineteenth century community, provided ease of transportation.
        "Bound to boom" Durango started life with advantages that other towns might only dream of having. To be sure, there would exist a short time of trials and tribulations. Within a few months after the September 13, 1880 survey and selling of lots (some sold for "shocking" prices, topping $100!), some 2,000 people crowded into the site. That overwhelmed county law enforcement and led to a brief time of lawlessness.
        Durangoans and their railroad desired a much more settled and peaceful image. In April and May 1881, they incorporated their town, elected a city government, and set sail to achieve their dreams. The railroad's arrival in August topped a wonderful year.

Already, Durango was the largest town on Colorado's Western Slope. Around it grew an agricultural hinterland. When the D&RG reached Silverton in July 1882, Durango became the commercial hub of the booming San Juan mining region.
Within two years, Durango had achieved its goal. It was the "Magic Metropolis."

William Jackson Palmer's Denver & Rio Grande Railway reached the Rio Grande at Alamosa in 1878, but the Royal Gorge War with the Santa Fe Railroad temporarily halted further progress toward the mineral-rich San Juans.

to reach by July 1880. The difficulties of fighting snow, rain and rugged terrain took their toll, however, and the line to Silverton was not completed until two and a half years after the initial contracts were let.
For starters, 63 miles of track were required to cover the 35 miles between Antonito and Chama. Along the way, the D&RG built its first two tunnels - the Toltec and Mud tunnels. Once at the top of Cumbres Pass, the rails plunged 14 miles down steep grades to Chama. Though the route from Chama to Durango presented more ordinary challenges, the rail line to Silverton once again tested the skills and mettle of the engineering and construction crews. When the railroad finally reached Silverton in July 1882, it had achieved a remarkable feat.

The futures of Silverton and Durango seemed assured, at least for the time being, but severe weather and natural disasters presented formidable challenges in keeping the lines open in the decades to come. Cutthroat competition with other railroads, economic downturns and other problems created financial difficulties for the railroad, and by 1884 Palmer and most of his close associated had left the company.