loco-info.com
The reference for locomotives and railcars
Navigation
Random
Search
Compare
Settings
Denver & Rio Grande Western class K-36
originally class 189
United States | 1925
10 produced
No. 486 in June 1947 at Alamosa, Colorado
No. 486 in June 1947 at Alamosa, Colorado
Frank Peterson / collection Taylor Rush

As the penultimate series of steam locomotives for the three-foot gauge, the D&RGW procured the K-36 from Baldwin, ten of which were delivered in 1925. The “K” in the designation stood for the Mikado design, the number for the tractive force in thousands of pounds. As with its predecessors, the coupling wheels were mounted inside the outer frames and the coupling and connecting rods, valve gear and cylinders were attached outside the frames. The balancing weights were not integrated into the wheels either, but mounted on the outside.

The K-36 was initially used only in front of freight trains. In 1937, three examples were fitted with steam heating and communication lines for use in front of passenger trains. Three more followed in 1945, leading to more than half being equipped accordingly. One locomotive was so badly damaged in an accident on the turntable in 1955 that it could only be used as a spare parts donor. The other nine were removed from active service with D&RGW between 1962 and 1970.

No. 481 in October 2014 at Silverton, Colorado
No. 481 in October 2014 at Silverton, Colorado
Wayne77

It is unusual for a steam locomotive from the 1920s that all nine engines which were not destroyed in an accident are still preserved and eight of them are still operational. Five of these are now owned by the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, four of which are in regular service. The other four are now owned by the Durango and Silverton and are also used regularly. One of each of the two operators was converted to oil firing around 2020.

General
Built1925
ManufacturerBaldwin
Axle config2-8-2 (Mikado) 
Gauge3 ft 0 in (Three feet)
Dimensions and Weights
Length67 ft 5 3/8 in
Wheelbase28 ft 1 in
Rigid wheelbase12 ft 3 in
Total wheelbase58 ft 8 in
Service weight187,100 lbs
Adhesive weight143,850 lbs
Total weight286,600 lbs
Axle load36,065 lbs
Water capacity5,000 us gal
Fuel capacity18,000 lbs (coal)
Boiler
Grate area40.3 sq ft
Firebox area145 sq ft
Tube heating area1,974 sq ft
Evaporative heating area2,119 sq ft
Superheater area575 sq ft
Total heating area2,694 sq ft
Power Plant
Driver diameter44 in
Boiler pressure195 psi
Expansion typesimple
Cylinderstwo, 20 x 24 in
Power
Power sourcesteam
Indicated power1,410 hp (1,051 kW)
Optimal speed25 mph
Starting effort36,164 lbf
Calculated Values
steam locomotive
freight
passenger
narrow gauge
last changed: 07/2022
View on YouTube
loading...

We use cookies to save the following settings:

  • selected navigation structure
  • selected language
  • preferred units
  • spelling of railway company names

If you refuse the use of cookies, the settings will only be retained for the current session and will be reset to the default values the next time you visit the site.

Display of units

Here you can set the desired unit system for the technical data.

  • Metric: Lengths in meters, weights in tonnes, and volumes in cubic meters
  • Imperial (UK): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in long tons and volumes in imperial gallons
  • Imperial (US): Lengths in feet/inches, weights in pounds, and volumes in US gallons
  • Individual: Depends on the country of origin of each locomotive
Operator names

Here you can set the display of railway company names.

  • Short: Abbreviation or short form of the name
  • Standard: commonly used name, partially translated to English
  • Complete: full name in local language