| D&RGW 30 ton Number 50 at Durango, Colorado on August 21, 1965, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. This locomotive was built in May 1937 (c/n 2245) by Davenport-Besler as a 30 ton three foot gauge 0-4-0 switcher for the Sumpter Valley Railroad as their number 101. It was powered by a Caterpillar D-1700 diesel producing 160 horsepower, with power coupled to the wheels through a mechanical transmission and siderods. At some point when the Sumpter Valley shut down (the last 1.5 miles were removed in 1961) this locomotive went to the Edward Hines Lumber Company, then in 1963 it was purchased by the D&RGW and became the Durango switcher until the abandonment of the San Juan Extension in 1970. It was sold to Roaring Camp & Big Trees Railroad, a tourist railroad in Felton, California, in March 1970. Last run in the early 1970s, the engine was eventually sold to the Colorado Railroad Museum in 1984. The engine is preserved at the Colorado Railroad Museum today, and was returned to operation in June 2009. Note the brake cylinder mounted on the front as an air-powered uncoupling device. |