What kind of steam engine shold I choose for a DRGW layout ?

Garden Railroading
1

I got started in the hobby about a year ago and am starting a DRGW layout . I was wondering what kind of steam engine I shold coose? p.s. Iwent to RailFest at Durango

2

there’s a wealth of good locos for D&RGW. Most steam locos can be ordered with the D&RGW roadname. LGB and Bachmann have many good locos for what your looking for, it just depends what your budget is.

3

I would go the route of Bachmann.

4

I would go the LGB route!

5

What is DRGW?

rgds Ian

6

Actually it’s D&RGW–Denver and Rio Grand Western. Bachmann makes a beautiful 4-6-0 Anniversary Edition coal burner in D&RGW livery.

7

Depends how deep your pockets are?

Theres a bit of range price wise in D&RGW livery, some are prototypical, other just labeled.

Affordable:

Bachmann 4-6-0 Annie $150

Aristo 2-4-2T $150

Moderate

Aristo C16 (1/24 scale) $250 projected

HLW 4-4-0 and 2-6-0 $350

LGB 2-4-4 Forney $300

Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 Connie $300

Bachmann Spectrum 4-4-0 American $300

Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-0 Mogul $300

getting up there

LGB 2-6-0 mogul $500 and up

Holy Grail territory

Berlyn and Accucraft C-16, C-19, C-21, K-27, K-36, K-37 $1500 to $2500

edit Oops! I missed a few! probably still missing a couple rare species[:I]

8

Without knowing which division of the D&RGW you are “rebuilding” and what year span you are attempting to immortalize, I would suggest a Mikado 2-8-2, a K27 or a K36 or K37 would be nice if you are rebuilding the Chama or Durango Divisions.

D&RGW 489 in Cumbres & Toltec livery.

9

When considering any Accucraft K series, remember the BMW principle
BMW = Bring Money Withyou…[;)]

10

Aristocraft also do a C-16 in 1/24 scale (ex Delton) which was an early DRGW loco.
Worth mentioning that from the excellent list above the berlyn & accucraft ones are the only 100% accurate DRGW prototypes while the others are real engines painted in DRGW livery. This isn’t a problem if you are happy with that.
I’ve converted a Bachmann 2-8-0 Connie by moving the headlight to the top of the smokebox and re-lettering it to make it similar to a C-10 DRG loco.
Paul

11

Paul,

Do you have any photos of the Connie after your conversion? I have a unlettered spectrum to that I have to do the same thing to. I’m also getting a C-16 ($123 NOS on EBAY) that I plan to convert as well.

Thanks, Jim - jeepersinco@aol.com

12

Much depends on how accurately you wish to model the D&RGW. If you’re a purist, your options are somewhat limited and typically expensive. If you’re looking to just capture the feel of the D&RGW, and not worry about whether the prototype actually owned a particular style of locomotive, then the sky’s the limit. Most manufacturers have locomotives lettered for the D&RGW because it’s such a popular railroad.

Another option would be to freelance a railroad based on the D&RGW. That allows you the ability to choose your locomotives to suit your tastes and budget without worrying about the nuts-and-bolts of prototypical correctness. My Tuscarora Railroad is built along these lines–based on the East Broad Top’s Shade Gap branch, but bowing to a distinct lack of EBT locomotives. Rather than letter locos for the EBT, I opted to create my own railroad.

Later,

K

13

The choice of a D&RGW locomotive depends on a lot of variables.

What scale are you running? What is you planned minimum radius? And how much are you willing to spend on a locomotive?

The two main scales with the most available D&RGW equipment are 1:22.5 and 1:20.3

1:22.5

LGB, Bachmann, USA, Aristo, and Hartland currently offer a wide arrange of equipment in 1:22.5 scale. Prototypical D&RGW locomotives in this scale, however, are very few. If you want to capture the modern narrow gauge era (1930’s to 1960’s), as most D&RGW modelers do, the only prototypical options are the Aristo-Craft C-16, and the Kiss K-36 The C-16 is very toy like and I would not recommend it, and it actually scales closer to 1:24. The Kiss K-36 is impressive, but it’s made of metal and costs a fortune. Not really ideal for most layouts, and more of a museum or mantel piece. LGB/Aster released a beautiful brass K-28 many years ago but this will also cost you plenty…with the current market value of a mint loco around $6,000.

So your options for prototypical locos become thinner in 1:22.5. I run this scale. So for mainline power I went with LGB moguls. Although these are not even close to a prototype D&RGW loco, they look good, are very reliable, and can take the tightest of curves. I ha

14

I give up, How bout a D&RGW engine?