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Denver, Mesa & Gunnison No. 442

One of the biggest gambles the DM&G ever took was the adoption of electric traction. Long tunnels and steep grades on the main line had been trouble since the beginning, patched up with extra sand on the locomotives and special oxygen masks for the crews. But the success of electrification on Northwest routes offered a promising solution to those woes, and in 1927, work began on electrifying the DM&G.

The first handful of electric locomotives were built in 1928, a custom design adapted from an Alco/GE diesel, or "oil-electric" as they were called back then. More were planned, but the onset of the Depression stopped those plans in their tracks. Nonetheless, these electrics proved successful enough as helpers, and updated versions were ordered for mainline service after the war.

Three of the first batch, including No. 442 depicted here, were sold to an Arizona copper mining railroad in 1966.