Rio Grande class K-37

Denver & Rio Grande Western K-37
D&RGW K-37 No. 491 on static display at the 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: ​  • Whyte Original: 2-8-0 Rebuilt: 2-8-2  • UIC 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) Fuel type Coal (No. 493 converted to oil) Boiler pressure 200 psi (1.38 MPa) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 20 in × 24 in (508 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Loco brake Air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Tractive effort 37,100 lbf (165 kN)
Career Operators Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) Durango & Silverton (D&SNG) Cumbres & Toltec Scenic (C&TS) Colorado Railroad Museum (C.R.R.M.) Class D&RG: 190 D&RGW: C-41 after rebuild: K-37 Numbers 490–499 Locale Colorado and New Mexico Retired 1955 (No. 496), 1962–1968 Preserved Eight (Nos. 491, 492, 493, 494, 495, 497, 498 and 499) preserved, two (Nos. 490 and 496) scrapped Restored No. 491; August 2014 No. 493; January 24, 2020 No. 497; 1984 Disposition Nos. 491 and 493 operational, No. 497 awaiting overhaul, Nos. 492 and 498 in storage, Nos. 494, 495 and 499 on display

The Denver and Rio Grande Western K-37 is a class of 2-8-2 "Mikado" type narrow-gauge steam locomotives built for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. 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 41,000 lbs of tractive effort) during the railroad's reorganization in 1924 and were converted to 3 ft (914 mm) gauge in 1928-30 at the railroad's Burnham Shops in Denver, Colorado with many new parts including new frames and smaller drivers. They then became class K-37.

Design[]

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 type engines.

History[]

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 to handle K-36s and K-37s. Three of the K-37s, Nos. 491, 493 and 499, were equipped with steam heat and signal lines so they could haul passenger trains like the San Juan Express and Shavano.

Of the eight preserved K-37s, locomotive #497 has operated on both the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) in Durango, Colorado from 1984 to 1991 and on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&TSRR) in Chama, New Mexico from 1992 to 2002. In late 2002, #497 was taken out of service, and as of 2021, it currently sits inside the Chama roundhouse awaiting a future overhaul. In August 2014, locomotive #491 was restored to operating condition at the Colorado Railroad Museum (C.R.R.M.) and operated for the first time in public on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at the annual Thomas the Tank Engine event. A ticketed "roll out" was hosted on August 29, 2014. On May 4, 2016, the D&SNG, in cooperation with the Colorado Railroad Museum, transported locomotive #493 to Durango after resting in Silverton for almost 20 years with the plan of having the C.R.R.M. transport it to Golden, Colorado and have it restored as well. However, after plans with the C.R.R.M. fell through, the D&SNG decided to undertake the restoration of #493 themselves. In the restoration process of #493 however, the locomotive was converted to oil-firing, making it the first former D&RGW 2-8-2 to burn oil instead of coal, the next one being K-28 class #473.^[3] On January 24, 2020, #493 moved under its own power for the first time in over 50 years, making it the first D&RGW K-37 class since #497 to run on the D&SNG. #493 then ran its first revenue run on the D&SNG on February 14, 2020.

K-37 Steam locomotive #493 in Silverton Yard.

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. The D&SNG originally owned four of the surviving K-37s, but they found that the #497 was too hard on their track and didn't handle the Animas Canyon section of the route as well as they would have hoped. Consequently, they traded #497 to the C&TSRR for K-36 #482 and #499 to Royal Gorge Park in Canon City for #486. However, the problems experienced by the D&SNG are now thought to have been isolated to locomotive #497's trailing truck and not universal to all K-37s.

Roster[]

The full roster of K-37 locos is:^[4][5][6]

References[]