D&RGW K-37

Denver & Rio Grande Western K-37

D&RGW #491 at Colorado Railroad Museum

Type and origin References:[1][2] Dimensions are as rebuilt unless noted Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Build date 1902 Rebuilder D&RGW Burnham Shops Rebuild date 1928–1930 Number rebuilt 10

Specifications Configuration Original: 2-8-0 Rebuilt: 2-8-2 UIC class 1′D1′ h2 Gauge Original: 4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Rebuilt: 3 ft (914 mm) Leading dia. Original: unknown Rebuilt: 28 in (711 mm) Driver dia. Original: 55 in (1,397 mm) Rebuilt: 44 in (1,118 mm) Trailing dia. Original: none Rebuilt: 28 in (711 mm) Wheelbase 29 ft (8.8 m) Length 41.1 ft (12.5 m) Width 10.4 ft (3.2 m) Height Engine: 13.3 ft (4.1 m) Tender: 13.5 ft (4.1 m) Loco weight 183,920 pounds (83,420 kg) Boiler pressure 195 psi (1.34 MPa) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 21 in × 30 in (533 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Loco brake Air Train brakes Air

Performance figures Tractive effort 37,100 lbf (165 kN)

Career Operators DRGW, D&SNG, C&TS Class D&RG: 190 D&RGW: C-41 after rebuild: K-37 Numbers 490–499 Locale Colorado and New Mexico Disposition Eight preserved; two (#490, 496) scrapped

Denver & Rio Grande Western K-37s are 2-8-2, Mikado type, narrow gauge steam locomotives. They were originally built by Baldwin as part of an order for thirty standard gauge 2-8-0, Consolidation type, locomotives, class 190, in 1902. They were renumbered into class C-41 (meaning 41,00 lbs of tractive effort) during the railroad's reorganization in 1924 and were converted to three foot gauge in 1928-30 at the railroad's Burnham Shops in Denver, CO with many new parts including new frames and smaller drivers. They were then renumbered into class K-37.

The locomotives are of outside-frame design, with the driving wheels placed between the two chassis frames which support the boiler, but with the cylinders, driving rods, counterweights and valve gear on the outside. This general arrangement is shared with the earlier K-27, K-28 and K-36 Mikado engines.

The locos worked out of Salida, Colorado to Gunnison, Colorado and up the Crested Butte Branch as well as the Monarch Branch. The locos also worked out of Alamosa, Colorado to Antonito over Cumbres Pass to Chama and on to Durango and the Farmington Branch. Like the K-36s the locos were not permitted West of Gunnison or on the Silverton branch. However, the Silverton branch has since been upgraded the track and line to handle K-36s and K-37s. 3 K-37s, 493, 491, and 499, were equipped with steam heat and signal lines so they can haul passenger trains like the San Juan Express and Shavano.

Of the eight preserved K-37s, only #497 has been operational, both on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad but it is now awaiting a major overhaul. However, in 2014, engine #491 went under restoration at the Colorado Railroad Museum. On Saturday, September 13, 2014 the #491 operated for the public for the first time at the Colorado Railroad Museum (a ticketed "roll out" was hosted on August 29, 2014), providing the motive power for the annual Thomas the Tank Engine event. On May 4, 2016 the D&SNG, in cooperation with the Colorado Railroad Museum, transported the #493 to Durango after resting in Silverton for almost 20 years for a joint evaluation project.

K-37 #493 in Durango after being moved from Silverton

Although the K-37s are actually about 2% lighter than the K-36s, they were erroneously thought to be much harder on track. Although the D&S originally owned four of the K-37s, they found that the longer engines were too hard on their track and they didn't handle the Animas Canyon section of the route as well as they would've hoped, so they traded #497 to the C&TS for K-36 #482 and #499 to Royal Gorge Park in Canon City for #486.

Roster^[3][4][5]

Class K-37 Number	Class 190 Number	Class C-41 Number	C-41 Builder's Number	Rebuilt in	Current Owner	Notes
490	1114	1014	20695	1928	n/a	Retired 1962 Dismantled 1963-64
491	1126	1026	20829	1928	Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden	Retired 1963, Operable. The Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden debuted its newest steam locomotive on Friday, August 29, 2014. The K-37 is the largest operating narrow gauge steam locomotive in the Western hemisphere. It was taken out of service in good condition. Acquired by History Colorado in 1970, moved to the Colorado Railroad Museum in 1985. Ownership of the engine was transferred to the museum in 2013, and in August 2014 the locomotive came back to life.
492	1121	1021	20749	1928	C&TS	To C&TS 1970
493	1105	1005	20550	1928	D&SNG	Retired 1970 To D&SNG 3/1981 Recently moved to Durango by K-36 #481 after resting in the Silverton yard for almost 20 years.
494	1120	1020	20748	1928	C&TS	Retired 1962 To C&TS 1970
495	1104	1004	20522	1928	C&TS	Retired 1962 To C&TS 1970
496	1123	1023	20751	1930	n/a	Dismantled 1/31/1955. Subject of an April Fools' Day hoax stating that it had been discovered intact in a barn near Salida, Colorado.[6]
497	1103	1003	20521	1930	C&TS	To D&SNG 3/1981, restored 1984, Traded to C&TS for #482 in 1991, taken out of service in late 2003. Sits in the old Chama roundhouse out of public view.
498	1109	1009	20640	1930	D&SNG	To D&SNG 3/1981 Missing tender and in major disrepair
499	1125	1025	20753	1930	Royal Gorge Park Canon City	Retired 1970 To D&SNG 3/1981 Traded to Royal Gorge Park for #486, 1999

References

1. Armitage, Alan B. (October 1979). "Denver & Rio Grande Western's K-37 MIkados". Model Railroader. Milwaukee: Kalmbach: 70–73.
2. Official Roster No. 11 of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad System. Denver: The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad System. April 1, 1923. p. 94.
3. "Denver & Rio Grande Western Mikados". Steam Locomotive dot com. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
4. "Denver & Rio Grande Western Roster". Rio Grande Modeling & Historical Society. Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
5. "Durango & Silverton Steam". DRGW.net. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
6. "Historic Steam Engine discovered in Barn". March 29, 2011. Retrieved December 20, 2011.