Iron Memory Photography

493: The Big Engine That Wasn’t Supposed to Be

Born in 1902 as a standard-gauge D&RG 2-8-0, No. 493 spent her first life hauling on rails twice the width of the narrow-gauge railroad she would eventually call home. In 1928, the Rio Grande’s Burnham Shops performed a remarkable rebuild: the old standard-gauge locomotive was given a new narrow-gauge frame, smaller 44-inch drivers, a trailing truck, and transformed into a K-37 2-8-2 Mikado.

And 493's story gets even stranger.
After retiring in 1970, she spent decades as a static display in Silverton. In 2016, the D&S brought her down to Durango with plans for a restoration that initially involved the Colorado Railroad Museum. That arrangement fell through, and 493 sat again. Then came another unexpected chapter: after the 416 Fire, the D&S decided to experiment with converting her from coal to oil, reducing the risk of live cinders along the line.

On January 24, 2020, after roughly half a century without turning a wheel under her own power, K-37 493 steamed again.

So this isn't simply a picture of a locomotive.
It's a photograph of a 1902 standard-gauge survivor that was rebuilt into a narrow-gauge giant, retired, preserved, nearly lost to history, and ultimately resurrected with an entirely new fuel system.
And now she's working the same spectacular mountain railroad that the Rio Grande once built through the San Juan country.
493 wasn't supposed to have this many lives. Somehow, she keeps finding another one.

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Galloping across the High Bridge

Galloping Goose No. 5 crosses the historic High Bridge above the Animas River—a remarkable example of Depression-era ingenuity.

When the Rio Grande Southern struggled during the Great Depression, running full steam trains for just a handful of passengers, mail and freight became too expensive. Their solution? Build their own railcars from existing automobile and bus parts.

No. 5 was constructed in 1933 using salvaged automotive components and a bus body, creating a lightweight gasoline-powered “Motor” that could do the work of a locomotive for a fraction of the cost.

Fun fact: the railroad didn’t call them Galloping Geese—the nickname came later from their distinctive appearance and rocking ride.

Sometimes survival requires a little imagination—and a whole lot of welding.

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Biggin’ on the Bridge

The first train of a Saturday heads for Silverton, with K-37 No. 493 crossing the bridge as shifting clouds create moving shadows throughout the canyon. Fresh from the shops and gleaming in the sunlight, 493 looks absolutely massive against the passenger cars behind her.

And there’s some serious history behind that big machine. 493 was originally built in 1902 as a standard-gauge locomotive before being rebuilt by the Denver & Rio Grande Western in 1928 into the K-37 narrow-gauge locomotive we see today. She is one of only two K-37s owned by the Durango & Silverton, and the railroad identifies the K-37s as its largest locomotives.

One of the coolest parts of 493’s story: she last operated in regular service in July 1968, then spent decades out of service before returning under her own power after an enormous restoration and conversion to oil firing. That rebuild took 22 months and roughly 7,500 man-hours, including the installation of 566 flexible staybolts.

And the railroad she’s working today has an equally incredible history. The Denver & Rio Grande reached Durango in 1881, construction toward Silverton began that same year, and the 45-mile line was completed in July 1882—built primarily to haul the tremendous mineral wealth coming out of the San Juan Mountains.

At just 36 inches between the rails, this narrow-gauge railroad was engineered specifically for the steep grades, tight curves, and rugged terrain of the San Juans.

Put 493 beside those passenger cars and the scale becomes obvious.

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Steam Over the High Bridge

The second train of a beautiful Saturday in September finds D&SNGRR 482 putting on a spectacular display high above the Animas River. As 482 performs a blowdown on both sides of the famous High Bridge, a powerful plume erupts from the locomotive’s left side, while the remnants of the earlier blowdown still hang in the canyon air to the right.

For a moment, the entire bridge seems wrapped in steam—482 framed by the rugged San Juan mountains, the historic steel bridge, and her yellow passenger cars trailing behind.

A perfect September morning on the narrow gauge.

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The Goose Comes Around the Bend

A Saturday in September, deep in the Animas River Canyon, and a very unusual piece of Colorado railroad history comes quietly around the bend.

Rio Grande Southern Galloping Goose No. 5 makes its way along the narrow-gauge rails, tucked between the rock walls and forests of the San Juan Mountains. Originally built in 1933 by the Rio Grande Southern, No. 5 was created as an economical gasoline-powered railcar to handle passengers, mail and light freight when the struggling railroad could no longer justify operating a full steam train on every run.

No. 5 originally used a Pierce-Arrow automobile body and running gear, cost just $2,599, and was later rebuilt with a Wayne bus body and WWII-surplus GMC engine. In 1950, its freight/mail compartment was converted for passengers.

After the Rio Grande Southern disappeared in 1952, No. 5 survived in Dolores. The Galloping Goose Historical Society eventually restored her to operating condition, and she returned to the rails in 1998 after nearly 47 years out of service.

And if you’ve been waiting to experience this wonderfully strange piece of railroad history for yourself, tomorrow — Saturday, September 19 — is the final Galloping Goose No. 5 excursion to Silverton of the 2026 season. The 90-mile round trip departs Durango at 10:00 a.m.

One last chance to ride the Goose through the San Juans in 2026

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Working the Wet Grade

493 leads her train back toward Durango through the Rockwood Cut, climbing the grade beneath a steady mountain sprinkle. The rain has left the rocks and rails slick and dark, while steam hangs in the canyon behind the locomotive.

493 made quick work of the climb, her exhaust working hard as heat shimmers above the machinery—a subtle reminder of just how much heat that boiler is carrying to move a train through the mountains.

Wet rails. Hot steel. Steam in the canyon.
Another day on the narrow gauge.

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Stormbound Through Rockwood

After a few delays along the line, D&SNGRR 482 leads her train through the Rockwood Cut on a Monday evening in September, making her way toward the yard in Durango.

Rain and storms are rolling through the San Juans as 482 pushes through the narrow rock walls, her headlight cutting through the mist while steam rises into the darkening mountain air.

A Monday evening, a delayed train, and a mountain storm—Rockwood doing what Rockwood does best.

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