"Through the weeds not around them". That was a parody of the DRGW's old advertising slogan, "through the Rockies not around them", dreamed up by DRGW engineer Andy Payne, probably while running along track like this. A Silverton branch work train heads north through the Animas Valley. In those days the track here was through a marshy area subject to spring flooding and the weeds grew profusely. Today the track has been raised substantially, ballasted with crushed rock, and the 70 pound rail replaced with 90.
The DRGW narrow gauge was the last major steam operation in the U.S. The climb over 10,000 foot Cumbres pass was spectacular, with two engines handling 70 car trains. Hopefully these images convey some of the drama of mountain steam railroading.
