Steam & Excursion > D&S K37s Gradually Disappearing from Durango

As evidenced by these June pictures the remaining K37s at Durango are fading away part by part.The 498 in the first image is farther along.The 493 can be expected to catch up soon now that it is no longer in Silverton.In other locomotive news, the the 478 and 476 were in the roundhouse for rebuild and the 482 for minor repairs.My knowledge of these locomotives is very limited so any comments regarding these shots would be appreciated.Bill Webb

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If they are cannibalizing I hope at least components are being properly stored for future needs and not torched to salvage. Hate to see any of these treated as such, but guess I don't know the facts yet.

Weren't these 2 mentioned engines running on this line not too many years ago????  If so, then why the change to other engines???

coach Wrote:

> Weren't these 2 mentioned engines running on this
> line not too many years ago????  If so, then why
> the change to other engines???

Neither 493 nor 498 has operated since the 1960's.

The K37 #497 operated on the Durango and Silverton until it was traded to the Cumbres and Toltec in 1991. 497 operated on the CATS, also.

i guess they heavier and harder on the track, underneath, the running gear, if i read it right, is the same as the 480's, maybe the 470's ??

The K-37s are very hard on the track, remember these were built as standard gauge 2-8-0s and rebuilt as narrow gauge 2-8-2s. The K-28s are preferred over K-36 as they ride much better, but the K-36s are more powerful and can pull longer and heavier trains. There are only two surviving K-27s, one is at C&TS, the other is at Knott's Berry Farm. There are three surviving K-28s, all I believe on D&SNG. Seven K-28s were transferred to the White Pass and Yukon during WWII (1942), WP&Y hated (OOS 1944) and promptly sold them to a scrapper in Seattle (1946). The K-36s, of which there were 14 built, ten for the D&RGW 480 through 489, and four for Oahu Rail and Land Co. 60, 70, 80, and 90. The four OR&L and D&RGW 485 have been scrapped. Of the ten K-37s, eight survive, one operates at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, 498 operated on D&S from 1984 until 1991 when it was traded to C&TS for K-36 482, it remained in service until 2003. K-37s 490 and 496 were scrapped by the D&RGW in the 50s and 60s.

Cheers,
Nick

Nick,

Re:K-27 #464 Was at Knott's but it's mechanical condition plus a lack of counter-balance clearance and their tight track radius sidelined the locomotive. The Huckleberry Railroad in Flint, Michigan, acquired the locomotive in 1981, did an eight-year restoration on it, and put it into active service.

Mike Mikado Anderson

I believe the Oahu Railway's mikes were K-28's with their air pumps moved to the more conventional location. -Alan