D&RGW K-36

Denver & Rio Grande Western K-36 class
K-36 #488 on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad
Type and origin References: Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Model 12-34 1/4 E Build date 1925 Total produced 10
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 2-8-2  • UIC 1′D1′ h2 Gauge 3 ft (914 mm) Driver dia. 44 in (1,118 mm) Loco weight 187,100 lb (84.9 t) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 195 lbf/in2 (1.34 MPa) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 20 in × 24 in (508 mm × 610 mm) Valve gear Walschaerts Loco brake S-6 (part of 6-ET schedule equipment) Train brakes 6-ET automatic air brakes on all. 480, 481, 482, 486 also have straight air equipment. All delivered with G-6 equipment new.
Performance figures Tractive effort 36,200 lbf (161.03 kN)
Career Operators Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad Numbers 480–489 Locale Colorado and New Mexico Retired 1955 (485), 1962-1970 Disposition One (485) scrapped,remainder operational or preserved

The Denver and Rio Grande Western K-36 class are ten 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge, Mikado type, 2-8-2 steam locomotives built for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (DRGW) by Baldwin Locomotive Works. They were shipped to the Rio Grande in 1925, and were first used along the Monarch Branch and Marshall Pass, but were later sent to the Third Division out of Alamosa. Of the original ten, four are owned by the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad (D&SNG) and five by the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad (C&TS). Number 485 fell into the turntable pit at Salida and was scrapped in Pueblo in 1955, with many parts being saved.

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 later K-37 Mikado engines.

The locomotives' name of K-36 comes from two different sources. The K in the name comes from the locomotives' wheel arrangement (Mikado), and the 36 stands for 36,200 pounds of tractive effort.

The K-36s were used primarily as freight locomotives out of Alamosa to Durango, and to Farmington, New Mexico, as well as out of Salida to Gunnison (over Marshall Pass) until 1955 and to Monarch on the Monarch Branch until 1956. They were built with special valves to allow brake control between locomotives while double-heading, and were commonly found between Alamosa and Chama, New Mexico. They were heavily used during the pipe boom in Farmington, and hauled long freight trains between Alamosa and Farmington.