Denver & Rio Grande Western
C-16 Class Number 223
By Jerry Day
Denver and Rio Grande narrow gauge locomotive number 223 was built by the Grant Locomotive Works in Patterson, New Jersey. It was completed in December 1881 at a cost of $11,553.50. In 1881 and 82, the D&RG had the greatest expansion in its history. It needed many new narrow gauge 2-8-0s. The Rio Grande contacted Baldwin Locomotive Works south of Philadelphia, PA to build 99 class 60 engines. Baldwin did not have the capacity to construct all the order. Baldwin sub-contracted 28 of the order to Grant. Baldwin supplied drawings to Grandt. The 28 were essentially the same as the Baldwin built series except for some differences in frame construction and Grant used a different steam and sand dome design. The 223 along with the other 27, were shipped on standard gauge flat cars to the D&RG shops at Burnham in Denver where they were setup for service.
The earliest documented use of 223 was February 12, 1882, when it double headed with class 70 (C-19) number 403 on a mixed train run from Salida to the Orient Iron Mine over Poncha Pass in the San Luis Valley. The 223 served over most of the D&RG narrow gauge system in Colorado and New Mexico. It also was rented or leased to the Rio Grande Southern a number of times. The 223 was shown to be in Chama, New Mexico in June 1920.
223 was modified and upgraded many times. In 1923, the D&RGW instituted a new locomotive classification system, and the class 60 locomotives became C-16s based on wheel arrangement and tractive effort. In the late 1920s and thru the1930s, the 223 was the primary locomotive on the Baldwin branch out of Gunnison.
In the late 1930s an early 1940s, Colorado and Utah cities were asking the D&RG to donate historic locomotives for public display. T-12 number 168 went to Colorado Springs. In 1940 Salt Lake City and Alamosa requested historic locomotives. The D&RGW selected 223 for donation to Alamosa. No documentation has shown why the 223 was selected, but three of the last four C-16s, 268, 271, and 278 had been in storage for long periods of time whereas the 223 was in regular service on the Baldwin branch throughout the 30s. Likely the D&RGW decided to donate the one with the most wear and tear.
Alamosa requested the D&RGW to donate T-12 number 169 as that engine had run on the Santa Fe branch (Chili Line) out of Alamosa for many years whereas the 223 had not operated out of Alamosa for many years. Engine 169 was presented to Alamosa in April 1941.
Early in 1941, 223 was sent to the Salida shop where it was given a fake diamond stack, fake wooden pilot and 1880’s style paint scheme. It was loaded on standard gauge flat cars with a narrow gauge box car, high side gondola, and caboose 0573. The equipment was transported to Salt Lake City by special train powered by four new FT diesels. The train stopped along the way to show the “old” and “new” of the D&RGW. When the train arrived in Salt Lake City, 223 was placed on a highway trailer and made part of a July 4th Pioneer Day Parade. It was placed on display at Tracy Aviary in Liberty Park. D&RGW prepared a special booklet as a handout at the ceremony on July 24th, 1941. The D&RGW formally leased the 223 to Salt Lake City on July 24, 1941. The 223 was officially retired from the D&RGW roster on December 31, 1941. The D&RGW retained ownership of the 223 until the summer of 1952, when ownership was formally transferred to Salt Lake City in a ceremony.
