The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad pulled off yet another historic feat this autumn. In its ongoing quest to improve sustainability and benefit the community, the railroad has installed 868 rooftop solar panels in its Durango railyard. The initiative was possible because of the dual preservationist and innovative missions that keep the region’s popular attraction running strong.
“We have to adapt,” said John Harper, COO and general manager of American Heritage Railways. “We have to change, to continue looking at ways to improve, in order to ensure that we’re here for the future.”
The D&SNGRR received a USDA grant to help support the $1.5 million installation. For the historic railroad, the sustainability project extends beyond simply adding solar panels to existing structures. The buildings in the railyard (including the car shop, mechanical facility, and machine shop) required significant structural updates and new roofs in order to support the solar panels.
After all, the railroad’s mission reaches beyond keeping the locomotives functioning to preserving and maintaining its period buildings. “We’re not altering historic structures over a century old, which is important,” said Jeff Johnson, D&SNGRR vice president and general manager.
The D&SNGRR has long strived to implement environmentally conscious measures to ensure sustainability. But the realities of a coal-powered fleet limited the options: When the locomotives burned coal, as they had for many decades, airborne particulates and soot rendered solar panels unusable.
Recently, the railroad converted its engine fuel from coal to 100% recycled oil. “Now we don’t have the particulates covering the solar panels,” Harper said.
Thus, in the Fall of 2024, the railroad completed this solar installation, bringing the bulk of the railyard to power neutral. “We’ve managed to take the solar initiative and incorporate it into what we do so it doesn’t detract from the historical experience,” Johnson said.
After all, as Harper points out, the railroad crew must balance being preservationists, educators, and entertainers. Keeping the railroad on track well into the future means adapting continuously to the times—and this solar installation contributes mightily to that mission.
