Rio Grande 168

Denver and Rio Grande Western No. 168 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 drivers, the largest drivers used on any three foot gauge D&RGW locomotive. The large drivers made it suitable for relatively fast passenger service.

As is the case with many small, early locomotives, we know little of their operating history. In the case of 168, what we know comes entirely from photographs taken of it. The first shows it in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison River in 1904. The second pair show it in Montrose, Colorado, west of Gunnison, at the head of a special train taking President William Howard Taft to the opening of the Gunnison Tunnel which, at the time, was the longest irrigation tunnel in the world. There are also photographs, taken by Otto Perry, showing it in Alamosa in 1923 and Salida in 1929. It was retired in 1938 after a service life of 55 years, later than most of its class.

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