On October 2nd, 1923, newly built 140 class locomotive #473 of the Denver & Rio Grande made its first run out of Salida to Sargents, Colorado, marking the first time this class of locomotives ever operated. Later reclassified as K-28 locomotives when the Denver & Rio Grande was reorganized as the Denver & Rio Grande Western. The K-28s served the railroad with pride for about 20 years until 7 of the class were shipped off to Alaska to help with the war effort and never returned to home rails. The survivors, #473, #476, and #478, continued service mainly on the Silverton Branch. Even when the D&RGW sold the Silverton Branch and its equipment to Charles Bradshaw to create the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, the legacy was still carried on for the K-28s as there has always been at least one operating every season the railroad operates. Fast-forward to 2023 and the locomotives are now celebrating their highly anticipated Centennial of being constructed. To commemorate this once-in-a-lifetime occasion, the Durango & Silverton announced a series of special photo charters specifically with K-28s being the centerpiece of the charters. The charter in this video was the third and final charter of the year, making it the most anticipated. The plan was to have locomotives #473 and #476 haul a mixed freight/passenger train with one of the locomotives acting as a mid-train helper. This was the first time since 1958 that a train had been operated like this on the Silverton Branch, making this a very rare and highly anticipated occasion for everyone attending the charter. The beautiful autumn colors mixed very well with the hard-working steam locomotives. The crews and organizers did a spectacular job giving what we photographers wanted for this amazing occasion. A very special thanks goes out to the crew for doing such a fantastic job at recreating history. We hope you enjoy our coverage of the K-28 100th Anniversary Photo Special!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:27 - Durango
1:22 - 32nd Street
2:12 - Home Ranch Siding
2:49 - Pond Curve
3:22 - Lockes Mountain Road
4:23 - Shalona Lake
5:08 - Elbert Creek
6:20 - The Highline
6:51 - Tacoma
7:17 - Repeating Curves
8:54 - Tank Creek
9:25 - Cement Wall
11:21 - Goblin Fire
13:26 - Needle Creek Canyon
16:07 - Elk Park Siding
18:10 - Whitehead Gulch
19:22 - Animas River Bridge
20:33 - Westbound to Durango
20:43 - Silverton
23:45 - Colorado Trail
25:53 - Elk Park Siding
26:20 - Highball Alley
27:41 - Goblin Fire
29:32 - Tacoma
30:22 - The Highline
32:51 - Shalona Lake
33:32 - Hermosa
34:06 - Animas Valley
34:42 - 15th Street
35:07 - Durango
36:14 - Credits
Check out my friends who were also in attendance:
‪@TheBigBananaRailfan‬
‪@Big_Diehl‬
‪@GlorietaSubProductions‬
‪@tyestrains‬
Instagram: / arkansas_locomotive_works
Copyright 2023, Jack Fellure.
Any sort of reproduction or reuse of this footage without permission will have consequences for those who decide to not abide by this request. I take a lot of time money, and effort into these, and I would appreciate it if you respect what I request.
(I apologize for the last shots in Durango being out of focus, my camera lens was damaged, and didn't know at the time)