{"id":36258,"date":"2023-01-17T15:24:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T22:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-railroad-receives-second-chance-in-rockwood-station-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T08:30:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:30:10","slug":"durango-railroad-receives-second-chance-in-rockwood-station-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-railroad-receives-second-chance-in-rockwood-station-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango railroad receives second chance in Rockwood Station lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Passengers
Passengers line up to board the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad on July 3, 2020, at the Rockwood Station. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file)<\/span>Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that La Plata County has \u201cno authority to regulate the operation\u201d of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in the latest update to a persistent saga that has embroiled the company and La Plata County in a legal conflict. However, that doesn\u2019t mean the railroad now has license to go off the rails with respect to its use of the Rockwood Station.<\/p>\n

The case contends with the question of which body \u2013 the La Plata Board of County Commissioners or the Public Utilities Commission \u2013 has the power to regulate the railroad\u2019s operations and stations. In separate lawsuits against both the county and the PUC, D&SNG has maintained that neither body can regulate its historic operations.<\/p>\n

The focal point of the case is the Cascade Canyon Express trip that D&SNG ran at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic from the Rockwood Station, located about 15 miles north of Durango, to the Cascade Canyon wye and back.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cThe train can load as many people and run as many trains as they want from Durango to Silverton and through Rockwood,\u201d said County Attorney Sheryl Rogers. \u201cIt\u2019s the actual stopping for the embarking and disembarking of a lot of people that created the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip led to an influx of 200 to 300 cars in the neighborhood per day, the county found, which led to complaints from neighbors. The county issued a notice to D&SNG directing the business to discontinue using the Rockwood Station as a major embarking location on the basis that the railroad was out of compliance with the land-use code that had been recently adopted.<\/p>\n

To accommodate the increased volume of visitors, D&SNG made several changes to the physical infrastructure of the Rockwood Station, which the county argues are subject to regulation because they constitute a \u201cextension, betterment or addition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The railroad ceased to operate the Cascade Canyon Express trip from the Rockwood Station after receiving the county\u2019s notice.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying to work with the county from really the last couple of years while this process has been ongoing,\u201d said John Harper, general manager of American Heritage Railroad, which owns D&SNG. \u201cUnfortunately, the county has been unwilling to work with us and come together and come to a resolution that works for both parties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harper reiterated the railroad\u2019s position that the use of the depot falls within the historic use of the railroad, exempting it from the attempted regulation.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s appeals ruling addresses 6th Judicial District Court Judge Suzanne Carlson\u2019s previous denial of a request from the railroad to enjoin the county from enforcing the land-use code.<\/p>\n

The railroad argued in its appeal of Carlson\u2019s decision that it was exempt from the code because of its status as a public utility, its previous use of Rockwood Station that predates the county\u2019s code, and that its activities at the station do not constitute an extension, betterment or addition.<\/p>\n