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Denver, Mesa & Gunnison No. 223

As the DM&G expanded operations in the 1920s, the need arose for a heavy-duty, mixed-traffic locomotive. Not only did it have to be powerful enough for coal and ore drags through the mountains, it had to have a lower-than-usual center of gravity to safely handle some of the sharp curves on the branchlines. That's where the K-class came in: a low-set, durable 2-8-2, not unlike a standard-gauge version of the various K classes on the rival Rio Grande.

The first order, Nos. 220-5, arrived in 1927. They were solid performers on freight drags, but left something to be desired on faster and longer-range trains. So it was back to the drawing board for the engineering department, and in 1933 the Ka class was introduced. Broadly similar to the K class in use in New Zealand, various mechanical improvements--notably its 4-8-4 wheel arrangement--made the Ka a staple on the DM&G fleet.

Nonetheless, they were phased out after World War II, as new steam and newer electric traction displaced them. The DM&G sold most of the engines to various short lines throughout the western states.

No. 223, one of the original K-classes, was rebuilt into a Ka in 1935. It was also one of three Ka's sold to the Evergreen Pacific & Eastern in Washington, working there from 1949 to 1965.