Happy 100th Birthday to the Denver & Rio Grande Western K-36s!
In August of 1925, the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania built 10 class K-36 2-8-2 mikados for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad's extensive narrow gauge system in Colorado and New Mexico. The locomotives were delivered to the railroad in mid-August 1925 and entered service later in the month.
The locomotives proved themselves to be a resounding success as they operated all over the railroad on a variety of trains from when they were built in 1925 until the end of the narrow gauge in 1968.
Today, 9 of the 10 locomotives survive, and 8 have operated within the last decade. 4 K-36s, 480, 481, 482, and 486, are owned by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and 5 K-36s, 483, 484, 487, 488, and 489, are owned by the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad. The locomotives continue to be the workhorses on both railroads and have proven to be among the most successful and iconic steam locomotives ever built in the United States.
It is safe to say that the workers at both the Baldwin Locomotive Works and on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad would be very proud of the legacy of these locomotives, and they would be thrilled to see them running just as hard and as often as they did 100 years ago.
Denver & Rio Grande Western 488, 484, and 487 simmer in Chama on a cool August night.
A collection of my photos featuring the historic steam locomotives and equipment operating on one of the most spectacular railroads in the United States.
