Rio Grande 169

Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 169 is a 4-6-0 "Ten Wheeler" type narrow gauge steam railway locomotive. It is one of twelve similar locomotives built for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1883. It was built as a passenger locomotive, with 46 in (1,200 mm) drivers, the second largest drivers used on any three foot gauge D&RGW locomotive. (The K-37s have 44 in (1,100 mm) drivers.)[1]

D&RGW 169
Cole Park in Alamosa, Colorado.
Type and origin Reference [1] Power type Steam Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Serial number 7028 Build date 1883
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-0  • UIC 2′C n2 Gauge 3 ft (914 mm) Driver dia. 46 in (1,168 mm) Adhesive weight 50,643 lb (23.0 t) Loco weight 70,550 lb (32.0 t) Fuel type Coal Cylinders Two Cylinder size 14 in × 20 in (356 mm × 508 mm)
Performance figures Tractive effort c. 12,000 lbf (53.38 kN)
Career Operators D&RG » D&RGW Class D&RG: 47, DRGW: T-12 Numbers D&RGW: 169 Last run 1938 Retired 1941 Current owner The City of Alamosa Disposition On Static Display Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Locomotive No.169 U.S. National Register of Historic Places Colorado State Register of Historic Properties Show map of Colorado Show map of the United States Location Along Chamber Dr. within Cole Park, Alamosa, Colorado Coordinates 37°28′10.6″N 105°51′43.1″W Area less than one acre Built 1883 Architect Baldwin Locomotive Works Architectural style Narrow gauge steam locomotive NRHP reference No. 01000230[2] CSRHP No. 5AL.312.1 Added to NRHP March 12, 2001

During its operational life it was used on all of the major D&RGW narrow gauge lines. It appears in two Otto Perry photographs on the branch to Santa Fe, New Mexico in April 1933.[3] It was taken out of service in 1938 and then refurbished in 1939 to appear at the 1939 New York World's Fair. In 1941, the railroad donated it to the City of Alamosa and it has been in Cole Park there since.[4] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places as Denver and Rio Grande Railroad Locomotive No.169 in 2001.[2]

Denver & Rio Grande RR 169 in its later years of service (Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR collection).

Denver & Rio Grande #167, at Alamosa, Colorado, not long after the railroad received it from Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1883. This engine was a sister to D&RG 169. The photo shows what #169 looked like originally, with diamond stack, box headlight and a wooden pilot (cowcatcher). (Colorado RR Museum collection)