The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train station will be going solar by the end of the year.
In partnership with Shaw Solar, American Heritage Railways will install 868 solar panels on the roundhouse, museum, car and contract shops.
A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will cover half the $1.5 million installation. The goal of the installation was to reduce energy costs as well as decrease the railroad company’s carbon footprint.
The move to solar power will replace an average of 640,000 kWh of power plant-supplied electricity and eliminate a little over a million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions in total.
“The railroad has always tried to be a great neighbor to the community and to the region,” said American Heritage Railways General Manager John Harper.
Harper said since taking ownership of the train in 1998, his family has tried to promote environmental stewardship.
Last year, the railroad partnered with the Colorado State Forest Service to conduct forestry management activities in the San Juan National Forest.
In fall 2023, efforts began to create fire breaks through thinning trees and deadfall and hauling the cut logs off via flatbed cars on the D&SNG line.
To implement the solar panels, the railroad must renovate the roofs of those buildings, Harper said.
“The thought process was if we're going to permanently install solar panels, let's make sure that we have brand new insulated roofs,” he said.
Renovations to the building roofs should finish in the next couple of weeks and then solar panel installation should begin. The railroad expects the solar panels to be installed by the end of the fall.
Harper said the solar installation will be cost neutral and that La Plata Electric Association will be installing new transformers for the project.
“We've continued to look at different opportunities to improve the railroad and to improve one of our missions of being more energy efficient and going green,” Harper said.
D&SNG and American Heritage Railways will continue to evaluate new technologies and opportunities to continue their efforts to further offset their environmental footprint, he said.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
