This photo shows what D&RGW #278 looked like originally, with a diamond stack, box headlight, trim on the domes, and a wooden pilot (cowcatcher). U.S. Park Service photo.
At the mouth of Cimarron Creek, just upstream from its confluence with the Gunnison River, a striking reminder of railroad days past greets traffic heading up Colorado’s Black Canyon near Morrow Point Dam in the Curecanti National Recreation Area. The 143-year-old locomotive #278, its coal tender, boxcar, and caboose stand atop the last remaining section of railroad trestle along the Black Canyon of the Gunnison route. This display is a historically authentic example of rolling stock railroad cars used on this branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) in its heyday.
Locomotive #278 was built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1882. It was constructed as a C16 mainline freight and helper engine. Helper engines were used to assist trains up steep grades. The "C" refers to a consolidated engine type with a "2-8-0" wheel configuration. The numbers "2-8-0" refer to the number and type of wheels. In this case there are two "truck" or "leading-wheels" in the very front of the engine, followed by eight "driving-wheels" in the middle, and no "trailing-wheels." The "16" refers to the maximum tractive effort of the engine, which is the highest force the train can exert. This engine was used on this part of the D&RGW's main line, on the Crested Butte Branch, and in the railyards of Gunnison, Colorado, for over 70 years.
Locomotive #278 was retired by the D&RGW in 1952 and given to the city of Montrose, Colorado, as a gift. In 1973, it was leased (along with the tender, boxcar, and caboose) to the National Park Service for 20 years.
One year later, the locomotive and accompanying cars were loaded aboard a Bureau of Reclamation "lowboy" for the move from Montrose to Cimarron Canyon. At that time, the western end of the trestle was still buried with dirt that covered a culvert over the river, and the "lowboy" was able to back up to that end and move the locomotive and cars directly onto the trestle.
In 1976, the Pratt Truss trestle was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, due to its significance as the last remaining structure representing the history of the narrow-gauge railroad in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The lease of the locomotive, tender, and caboose was renegotiated in 1989 and extended to 99 years. In 2009/10, Engine #278, tender, caboose and box car were also added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Of the estimated 150 C16 engines built for the D&RGW, only three of these narrow-gage workhorses remain today. Engine #268, a cosmetically restored example, is on permanent display on the grounds of the Gunnison Pioneer Museum in Gunnison, Colorado. Engine #223 rests unrestored, at the Ogden City Depot Museum in Ogden, Utah.
When exploring picturesque Black Canyon, Morrow Point Dam and the Curecanti National Recreation Area, stopping to view engine #278 is like stepping back in time to the days when steam was king. Informative signs tell its story and the significance of the railroad in the canyon, greatly enhancing any visit.
