Railroad Equipment : Rio Grande Southern Engine No. 20

railroad engine no 20

Photo curtesy of Toltec Images

Outshopped by Schnectady in 1899, No. 20 began its service as a passenger engine on the Florence & Cripple Creek Road. She was originally named "Portland" after one of the famous mines in the Cripple Creek District. For about thirteen years she chugged up and down Phantom Canyon, until the flood of July, 1912 ripped out much of the track and brought a halt to F & CC operations.

In 1916, engine 20 was sold to the Rio Grande Southern and it spent the next 35 years on the Silver San Juan Route. On the Club's 1947 excursion, engine 20 handled the train from Ridgway to Dolores. This close association with the engine may have helped influence our decision to purchase it when the line was abandoned in 1951. It was first displayed at the Narrow gauge Motel at Alamosa. When the Colorado Railroad Museum was established in 1958, it was moved to its present site.

No. 20 can be visited at the Colorado Railroad Museum.