Silverton Northern Railroad

Silverton Northern railcar

The Silverton Northern Railroad, now defunct, was an American 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad constructed to reach the mining area north of Silverton, Colorado along the upper Animas River. This line, the third railroad project by Otto Mears, began in 1889 as a branch of the Silverton Railroad to Eureka. Incorporated in 1895 as the Silverton Northern Railroad, the line was projected to run past Eureka to Animas Forks and on to Mineral Point and then on to Lake City via Henson Creek, including a proposed three-quarter-mile tunnel through the mountains. However, Animas Forks was the end of the line, which was reached in 1896.

Operations on the line were seasonal, due to the tremendous amount of snowfall that was typical in the San Juan region, and the Silverton Railroad and the Silverton Northern, while never officially merged, were operated as one entity, sharing rolling stock and motive power. In 1915, the Silverton, Gladstone and Northerly Railroad was purchased by Mears, becoming the SN's Gladstone Branch.

The railroad managed to survive bad weather and fluctuating metals markets for years, the Silverton Railroad being dismantled in 1926 after several years of inactivity, and the main line was cut back from Animas Forks to Eureka in the late 1930s. Finally, in 1942, while the mines were idle and US involvement in World War II was increasing, the remaining SN equipment was requisitioned by the US Army for use on the White Pass and Yukon Route during the hurried construction of the Alaska Highway, and the rails were torn up for scrap.

Roster

Steam Locomotives

Number	Builder	Type	Serial Number	Built	Acquired	Retired	Disposition/Notes
1	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2-8-0		1887	1896	1924	Built for the Silverton Railroad out of the running gear of Denver & Rio Grande #42's running gear and D&RG#283's boiler in 1887. Transferred to SN#1 in 1896. Scrapped 1924.
3	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2-8-0	24109	1904	1904	8/1942	Sold to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad #22. Scrapped in 1944.
4	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2-8-0	27977	1906	1906	8/1942	Sold to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad #23. Scrapped in 1944.
34	Baldwin Locomotive Works	2-8-0	24130	1904	1915	8/1942	Originally Silverton, Gladstone and Northerly Railroad #34. Sold to the SN in 1915. Sold to the White Pass and Yukon Railroad in 1943 and became #24. Scrapped in 1951.

Motor Cars

Number/Name	Builder	Build Date	Notes
1	Strover	1908	Built by Stover. Dismantled around 1940.
Casey Jones	Home Built	1904	Built in the Sunnyside Shops at Eureka, Colorado. Original purpose was an ambulance. Preserved in Silverton. Not Silverton Northern.

References

• Sloan, Robert E. and Skowronski, Carl A. (1975). The Rainbow Route. Denver, Colorado: Sundance Publications Ltd. ISBN 0-913582-12-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

Visit the Silverton Northern Railroad Reconstruction Project: http://www.silvertonnorthern.com