D&RGW K-28

Denver & Rio Grande Western K-28 is a class of ten narrow gauge 2-8-2, Mikado type, steam railway locomotives, built as Passenger locomotives in 1923 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works of the American Locomotive Company for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. They were the first new narrow gauge locomotives ordered by the railroad since 1903.^[1] They initially comprised class E-4-148-S, but were reclassified K-28 in 1924 when the railroad reorganized into the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.^[3]

The chassis is of outside-frame design with the drive wheels placed between the main frames, and the running gear (cranks, counterweights, rods and valve gear) to the outside. This general arrangement was also used on the earlier class K-27 and later class K-36 and K-37 engines.

In later years they were tasked with carrying express passengers on the narrow gauge such as the San Juan from Alamosa to Durango, The Silverton from Durango to Silverton, the Shavano from Salida to Gunnison, and on the Chili Line.

White Pass & Yukon

During World War II, seven of them were purchased by the US Army for use on the White Pass and Yukon Route in Alaska and the Yukon. The locomotives which went there were renumbered USA 250–256, but they did not fare well in the bitter Yukon winters. In particular, the driving wheel counterweights had the unfortunate tendency to ride up on trackside ice, lifting the engine off the rails. All seven were withdrawn from service in 1944, and were barged to Seattle in 1946 for scrapping.

The K-28s today

The three locos which remained with the D&RGW, numbers 473, 476 and 478 were assigned to the Durango – Silverton tourist trains from the 1950s onwards. The Durango & Silverton inherited these when it took over the Silverton Branch in 1981.^[2] Number 473 is operational while 476 is in the Museum at Durango awaiting major repairs, with 478 currently being rebuilt.

Due to their smaller size, these engines are often used by the Durango & Silverton for shorter trains, usually the first or last on the schedule, and also for helper service or sectioned trains. Despite being slightly smaller, a little older and less powerful than the K-36s, the engine crews tend to favor a trip on these engines because the design ALCO used was superior in balance and servicing. Firing can be tricky when the engine is working hard, as the clamshell-style firedoors tend to pull into the backhead of the boiler due to the draft, and if any flues in the boiler are leaking, the loss of draft on the fire is much harder to work around than on the K-36 locomotives. Firing while the engine is working hard is done with a large "heel" pattern, generally with as little coal on the flue sheet as possible, and gradually sloping the fire bed towards the door sheet to the height or higher than the firedoors. This results in the draft being forced through the fire bed in the thinner areas towards the flue sheet, which usually is hindered by the lack of draft between the grates and the arch brick. New firemen sometimes have a hard time learning this because there are fewer training hours available on the K-28 class locomotives compared to the railroad's usual K-36 workhorses which have a larger firebox and are more forgiving of poor technique.

Roster^[3]

References