Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge 1888 Bridge over Animas River in Durango, CO

(Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

Photo by Nathan D. Holmes via Bridge Hunter, License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC)

My motivation for saving this video of a DGNS train is the heavy flow of the river. One good thunderstorm on the watershed can make a mountain river flow heavily for a little while. Of course, seeing a steam locomotive in action is also nice. This is the only six-panel truss on the Bridge Hunter page so I'm pretty sure this is the bridge that is in town.

Screenshot

Yard Limit Productions Railroad Photography posted 0:41 video
K-37 493 pulls the 9AM Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train over the Animas River on July 22, 2025
[They must have a lot of business. That train was much longer than what I remember seeing on that railroad.]

Satellite

Some of the spans are older than that locomotive. And any narrow gauge steam locomotive is pretty old.

From west to east, the bridge is configured as follows. First, there is a riveted through plate girder span. A plaque on this bridge indicates that the Lassig Plant of Chicago of the American Bridge Company built this span in 1901. This construction date indicates this is one of the earliest bridges built by the American Bridge Company which formed in 1900. This span was originally located on the Pleasant Valley Branch in Utah and was relocated here in 1927.
The next span of the bridge is a pin-connected Pratt through truss with ornamented portal bracing. This span was built in 1888, and was originally located over the Conejos River near Antonito. It was relocated here in 1917.
Lastly, the east end of the bridge has a rare Howe timber pony truss span with cast iron connection pieces. This span was built in 1936.
The reason for the different spans on this bridge comes from various floods, including the first in 1885, and also the flood in 1911.
[Historic Bridges]

Oct 23, 2026, Flood:

Yard Limit Productions Railroad Photography posted
Animas River Bridge in Durango.
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad shared
[They closed the river to kayaking because they would not be able to fit under this, and some other, bridges. Also, there is a lot of debris in the river.]

This video has some views in addition to the bridge.

Steel Rail Blues posted
Relentless rains have swelled the Animas River beyond its banks, overtopping the Durango & Silverton tracks in some places. With even more rain on the way, please keep the railroad and everyone who lives and works in the area in your thoughts. There will be quite a bit of work ahead for all.

Animas Museum posted

15th Street Railroad Bridge: October 5, 1911 --> October 23, 2026

In 1911, an October flood devastated Durango and the surrounding areas. After a wet year across the Southwest, heavy rains caused the river to rush at what was estimated to be 25,000 cfs. People even stationed loaded railroad cars on the bridge in an attempt to keep it from washing away! Recent rains and high waters have us thinking of that iconic flood - hopefully we avoid such high water levels and everyone stays safe!

Top photo: Animas Museum Catalog Number 03.53.3

Bottom photo: Courtesy of Kylie Miller, Animas Museum Education & Programming Director

I never noticed the pony truss approach on the other side of the bridge until this view.

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13 flood photos in Durango including this bridge