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Durango Silverton RR 473

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This D & S 2-8-2 K-28 473 locomotive is photographed with a “snow plow”.


Here are some excerpts from the web:


ex-Denver & Rio Grande Western #473 is a 1923 2-8-2 built by the Alco Works of Schenectady, NY , near Albany.

2-8-2 473 was badly damaged in the 1988 fire at the Durango roundhouse and was restored shortly before the 9th National Narrow Gauge convention in September 1989. One of the highlights of the convention was an extra run with 473 which featured numerous runpasts along the line.


Technical information
The steam-powered locomotives used today on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad were built during the 1920s. There are two classes, K-28 and K-36, which are based on wheel arrangement and pulling power of the locomotive.
The K represents the nickname "Mikado" that describes a locomotive with two non-powered, pivoting wheels in front of eight driving wheels, which are connected to driving rods powered by the engine's pistons, and finally two non-powered trailer wheels located under the cab. The name comes from the fact that the first significant use of the type was a series built by Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Japanese Railways in 1887.
The numbers 28 and 36 designate pulling or tractive effort of the locomotive in thousands of pounds. The tractive effort of K-28s is rated at 27,500 pounds, and the tractive effort of a K-36 is a 36,200 pounds. The weight of a K-28 with a full tender is 254,500 and a K-36 weighs 286,600 pounds with a full tender.

D & S 2-8-2 K-28 locomotive No. 473 on arrival at Silverton with a train from Durango in June 1990
The 470 series or 2-8-2 K-28 locomotives were ten engines designed for freight service along the D&RG. They were built by the Schenectady Locomotive Works of the American Locomotive Company (Alco) in Schenectady, New York, in 1923. The K-28s have 28,000 lbs. of tractive effort, superheated, and the boilers are fed by two non-lifting injectors. Air brakes are 6-ET automatic and also feature a straight air secondary braking system for daily passenger trains. Due to their smaller size these engines are often used on the Durango & Silverton for shorter trains, usually the first or last on the schedule, and often for helper service or sectioned trains. Despite being smaller than the K-36 class locomotives, older, and less powerful, the engine crews tend to favor a trip on these engines because the design ALCO used was superior in balance and servicing. Firing can be tricky when the engine is working hard, as the clam shell style firedoors tend to pull into the backhead of the boiler due to the draft, and if any flues in the boiler are leaking, the loss of draft on the fire is much harder to work around than on the K-36 locomotives. Firing while the engine is working hard is done with a large "heel" pattern, generally with as little coal on the flue sheet as possible, and gradually sloping the fire bed towards the door sheet to the height or higher than the firedoors. This results in the draft being forced through the fire bed in the thinner areas towards the flue sheet, which usually is hindered by the lack of draft between the grates and the arch brick. New firemen sometimes have a hard time learning this because the art of reading a fire takes time to learn, and the amount of time working on the K-28 class locomotives is far reduced compared to the railroads usual K-36 workhorses which have a larger firebox and are more forgiving in technique.
Out of the original ten only three 470s remain, and all are owned by the D & S. The other seven were requisitioned by the United States Army in 1942 to be used on the White Pass & Yukon Route in Alaska during World War II. They were later dismantled for scrap in 1946.
Locomotives 473, 476, and 478 operated on many parts of the D&RGW. Engine 473 served frequently on the Chili Line that operated between Antonito, Colorado and Santa Fe, New Mexico. 473 served on the Chili Line until it was abandoned in 1941. 476 and 478 saw an extensive service on the San Juan passenger train, which ran between Durango, Colorado and Alamosa, Colorado until 1951. 473, 476, and 478 operated on the Silverton Branch from the 1950s through 1980 and are still in service today.
1. 473 is operational.
2. 476 is currently stored and on display in the museum. Is awaiting major repairs.
3. 478 is operational.



Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad link:

[link]
Image size
3000x2400px 3.48 MB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL
Shutter Speed
1/500 second
Aperture
F/6.3
Focal Length
28 mm
ISO Speed
400
Date Taken
Sep 24, 2005, 5:05:10 PM
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Comments30
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Grantrules's avatar

I adore these DRGW narrow gauge engines!