{{AFC comment|1=Certainly an interesting topic, but is the draft finished? [[User:GGOTCC|GGOTCC]] 22:06, 29 October 2025 (UTC)}}
{{AFC comment|1=Certainly an interesting topic, but is the draft finished? [[User:GGOTCC|GGOTCC]] 22:06, 29 October 2025 (UTC)}}
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* ”’Comment:”’ I am not done yet, I accidentally submitted this.
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Comment: Certainly an interesting topic, but is the draft finished? GGOTCC 22:06, 29 October 2025 (UTC)
Narrow Gauge Steam locomotive class
| Denver and Rio Grande C-19 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Denver and Rio Grande Western C-19 (originally Denver and Rio Grande Class 70 or 74) were a class of 3ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge 2-8-0 “Consolidation” type steam locomotives built for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG), later the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1881. These engines were built to supplement the smaller and weaker Class 60 2-8-0s (later designated C-16 after the reorganization).
At the end of the 1880’s, 5 of these bigger narrow gauge engines were converted to standard gauge in 1889, but by 1900, they all were converted back to narrow gauge.[1] 2 Class 70’s were purchased second hand by the Rio Grande Southern Railroad as #40 and #41 respectively.[2] As of today, only 3 C-19’s exist in preservation, D&RGW #346 was the first C-19 to be bought for preservation by Robert W. Richardson, the founder of the Colorado Railroad Museum, while the other two (D&RGW #340 and RGS #40 respectively) were purchased for operation on Ghost Town & Calico Railroad on Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California.[1][3]
By 1886, after a period of financial difficulty and reorganization, the Denver and Rio Grande Railway was divided into two independent systems: the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, which operated the Colorado lines, and the Rio Grande Western Railway, which took control of the Utah lines.[4]
When the D&RG received its orders for the smaller Class 56 and Class 60 2-8-0 locomotives (later designated C-16s), the railroad began experimenting with larger and more powerful engines, such as the Class 70 (later C-19s), to handle the steep grades on the Marshall Pass route and to support construction of the San Juan Extension, which ran from Alamosa to Durango.[4][3]
Five of the original Class 70s would be converted for standard gauge use, and the first standard gauge locomotives to be ever used by the D&RG up until that point. Though they would all be reverted back to narrow gauge at the turn of the century.[1]
After the Denver and Rio Grande merged with the Rio Grande Western, it became the Denver and Rio Grande Western (D&RGW), after the reorganization, all the locomotives were redesignated based on their wheel arrangement, and tractive effort. This gave the Class 70s a new designation of “C-19”, the “C” stands for “Consolidation” and the 19 indicates 19,000 lbs of tractive effort.[1][3]
