On the dark side at Mott Lake
The former Denver & Rio Grande Western K-27 #464 is definitely a long way from home as she hauls a short excursion train along the shores of the ice-covered Mott Lake, just outside Flint, Michigan back in January of 2019. The 464 was one of 15 identical, narrow gauge, outside-frame Mikado locomotives built for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad back in 1903 and she spent nearly 60 years working that line and its successor, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in the mountains of Colorado. When the D&RGW phased out its narrow-gauge operations in the 1950s and 60s, only two of the original 15 survived the scrappers. Sister #463 ended up on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic railroad but 464 was not destined to stay in Colorado. Initially, she was sold to the folks at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, but her design proved problematic on the tight curves in the theme park, and she was sold to the Genesee County Parks Commission, which owns the Huckleberry Railroad, in 1981.
This image was captured just over a mile east of Crossroads Village, during a January 2019 photo shoot, organized by Lerro Photography, which featured both the 464 and her stablemate, the US 152, in operation on the 4-mile-long tourist line.
On the dark side at Mott Lake
The former Denver & Rio Grande Western K-27 #464 is definitely a long way from home as she hauls a short excursion train along the shores of the ice-covered Mott Lake, just outside Flint, Michigan back in January of 2019. The 464 was one of 15 identical, narrow gauge, outside-frame Mikado locomotives built for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad back in 1903 and she spent nearly 60 years working that line and its successor, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in the mountains of Colorado. When the D&RGW phased out its narrow-gauge operations in the 1950s and 60s, only two of the original 15 survived the scrappers. Sister #463 ended up on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic railroad but 464 was not destined to stay in Colorado. Initially, she was sold to the folks at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, but her design proved problematic on the tight curves in the theme park, and she was sold to the Genesee County Parks Commission, which owns the Huckleberry Railroad, in 1981.
This image was captured just over a mile east of Crossroads Village, during a January 2019 photo shoot, organized by Lerro Photography, which featured both the 464 and her stablemate, the US 152, in operation on the 4-mile-long tourist line.