The Durango and Silverton Narrow Guage RR was built to haul miners and supplies up to the mining town of Silverton. Trains would return with carts of ore which would be smelted in Durango to extract the silver and gold. Living at 9,300 feet and working like slaves, the frontiersmen were a lean and hardy folk. Most of today's visitors, however, can barely get three cheeks on a seat.