Mountain Models (division of PSC) K-28 in On30

Reviewed by Chris Lane/Model photos by the author; prototype photos as indicated

The distinctive face of the K-28 class outside-frame Mikado of the Denver, Rio Grande & Western and later Durango & Silverton railroads is instantly recognizable by modelers and railfans of the Silverton branch out of Durango, Colorado. The three surviving members of the class have been the primary power on this world-famous line for over 50 years. The K-28 is now available as the second model from Mountain Models, a division of Precision Scale Company. This brass and die-cast metal rendition of the K-28 follows their K-27 model of last year. The model comes factory painted and lettered, and is DCC ready. It is a magnificent model.

The Prototype

Throughout the teens and early 1920s, the Denver & Rio Grande engaged in an ambitious program of upgrading the railroad’s physical plant, including their large network for narrow gauge. Heavier rail was laid, right-of-way alignments were adjusted, and bridges were strengthened. Management also realized that the useful service life of their fleet of early and mid 1880s narrow-gauge locomotives was drawing to a close. In 1923, the D&RG placed an order with American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for ten new 2-8-2 outside-frame locomotives. These were the first new locomotives on the narrow gauge since 1887 (Class C-17s) and the first ALCOs for the perennial Baldwin-buying Rio Grande. Numbered 470-479, these were originally designated Class 148, but were given the more familiar K-28 class in 1924.

These were thoroughly modern locomotives featuring piston valves, super heaters, and 44" drivers that excreted 27,540 lbs. of tractive effort and carried 200 lbs. of boiler pressure. Outside framed like the earlier K-27 and later K-36 and K-37 Mikados, they differed by having a large counterweight only on the third set of drivers where the main rod attached, instead of on all drivers. They also had the cross compound air pump mounted on one of the dual smokebox doors. This feature combined with the tall stack, rounded front cab corners and their speed and acceleration soon had the engine crews calling the K-28 the “sports model.”

Placed in service system-wide, they quickly took over passenger train duty from the 1884 vintage T-12 Ten Wheelers. Fast and smooth riding due to the trailing truck being located directly under the cab, engine crews preferred them to the waddling gait of the K-27 and cab shaking ride of the K-36 and K-37s. Modern crews on the Durango & Silverton continue to praise the class for their reliability and good steaming characteristics, despite the somewhat small firebox compared to other Mikados. Word spread about the success of the design, and ALCO built four for the Oahu Railway & Land Co. in Hawaii in the late 1920s to the same plan. They also exported a number of very similar locomotives.

Within a few years the locomotives drew regular assignments and terminals. While considered by the railroad to be primarily a passenger locomotive, the K-28 pulled their fair share of freight traffic. In fact, 474 never received steam heat and signal connections for passenger service and spent her career on the D&RGW pulling freight out of the Gunnison area. On the Chili Line, 473 and 475 were the most common power, with 475 and 476 frequent visitors. No. 476 also pulled the San Juan passenger train with some frequency, in additional to often being photographed pulling freight between Chama and Durango in the 1930s and 40s. No. 477 was regularly assigned to the San Juan with 471 and 472. The Marshall Pass passenger train, the Shavano, was usually pulled by 479, and 478 was assigned out of Durango, working regularly on the San Juan passenger train and the Silverton branch mixed.

In 1942, the US Army was convinced that the Japanese planned to invade Alaska. The only way to move materials was via the White Pass & Yukon Railway, a 3' narrow gauge railroad built during the Alaskan Gold Rush. The Army scoured the country looking for equipment and requisitioned seven of the Rio Grande’s K-28s. There are two myths that have been perpetrated about their service in Alaska. One is that they performed poorly, and the other is they were so worn out by war service, they were scrapped rather than being returned to the D&RGW. In fact, while the White Pass railroaders preferred their own home power to any of the “foreign” power brought in by the Army, those who ran them thought the K-28s were good locomotives and did their duty well. By mid-1943, the K-28s were used less and less, and by 1944 had been withdrawn from service completely. Some believed that the outside counterweight interfered with operation in the snow and ice, but a quick look at the White Pass’s own 61, 68 and 69, outside-frame 2-8-0s quickly dispels that thesis. A favorite of the White Pass crews, these locomotives had large counterweights on all driver sets.

The reality is that the Army had both overestimated and over-prepared for the Japanese threat in Alaska, and by early 1944 had no need for all the equipment that had been brought in for the White Pass. The WP&Y simply reverted to using their own equipment, and in fact, the stored Army equipment was getting in the way. The now surplus locomotives were returned to Seattle in 1944. The C&S and Silverton locomotives, which were sent to Alaska at the same time, were in poor shape to begin with, and their service in the north sapped what life was in them. This is evidenced by their ghastly condition in the photos taken on the Seattle deadline. By contrast, the K-28s appear to be in sound shape in those same deadline photos. In reality, the D&RGW had no use for the locomotives, as the power they had on hand was more than adequate to move even the war-time traffic. They halfheartedly accepted 472, but it was damaged in transit and scrapped in Ogden, UT. The accompanying chart gives the details of the rest of the class.

No.	C/N	Disposition
470	64981	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 250; retired and scrapped Seattle, WA '45
471	64982	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 251; retired and scrapped Seattle, WA '45
472	64983	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 252; retired and scrapped Ogden, UT '45. Boiler supposedly went to Pueblo Ordinance Depot
473	64984	To D&SNG 473 Mar '81
474	64985	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 253; retired and scrapped Seattle, WA '45
475	64986	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 254; retired and scrapped Seattle, WA '45
476	64987	To D&SNG 476 Mar ’81
477	64988	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 255; retired and scrapped Seattle, WA '45
478	64989	To D&SNG 478 Mar '81
479	64990	To U.S. Army Oct '42 as WP&Y 256; retired and scrapped Seattle, WA 45

Nos. 473, 476 and 478 continued to serve as passenger and freight locomotives through the 1950s. As the last passenger trains on the narrow gauge were discontinued and the last K-27s were retired, all three locos were stationed in Durango. They were the only locomotives on the roster that were light enough for several of the bridges on the Silverton branch, and the Silverton mixed was becoming increasingly popular with tourists. By the early 1960s, the only traffic on the remains of the narrow gauge was oil pipe traffic from Durango to Farmington, NM; oil shipments from Chama to Alamosa; and the summer Silverton traffic. The D&RGW dropped the pretense of freight traffic on the Silverton and started to develop the tourist business. The three K-28s were given major overhauls in the Alamosa shops and were equipped with phony diamond stacks and fancy lettering. They also started shedding the brakeman’s doghouses from their tenders. They kept that appearance until the Silverton branch was sold in 1981.

Of the group, 473 is both the best loved by crews and also the unluckiest. Said to be the best riding and steaming of the trio, it was severely damaged in the 1950s when it hit a sun kink in the rails in the Animas Canyon and plunged into the river. It was also damaged right after an extensive rebuild in the mid-1980s when it was broad-sided at a grade crossing by a runaway potato truck. Finally, when the Durango roundhouse burned in 1989, 473 was the most severely damaged of the six locomotives in the shop. No. 478 has the reputation as the poorest riding of the three, but as a spry 83-year-old, continues to run up the miles every summer in Durango with her sister 473.

The 476 is currently out of service and displayed in the Durango roundhouse. The 476 pulled many freight trains throughout the 1960s until the abandonment of the remainder of the narrow gauge, and it is believed this, combined with hard service on the Silverton line, excessively wore her tapered smokebox bolts. As these wore, they allowed the cylinder assembly to “walk” back and forth with each piston stroke. Finally, about 1996 the problem became bad enough to withdraw the locomotive from service. For the last few years it has been rumored that it would be repaired, but other projects have gotten in the way. Hopefully, we’ll see 476 plying the rails of the Animas Valley soon.

The Model

My sample arrived in a heavy, brass locomotive type box. After removing the top foam I found two cardboard boxes nestled in the foam. These contain the tender and locomotive sitting on their wheels. Like the K27, they are a heavy die-cast and brass construction. The tender weighs 1 lb. 8 oz. and the locomotive 3 lbs. 4 oz. for a total of 4.25 lbs. The weight, combined with the hefty can motor easily pinned our 9 oz. test fixture. Our best estimate is that the locomotive’s pull is in excess of 14 oz. Out-of-thebox, the locomotive ran smoothly, slowly and silently. Tested on a circle of Bachmann E-Z Track®, the locomotive had no trouble negotiating Mountain Model’s recommended 26" min. radius.

The model is a detail lover’s delight, basically a brass engine with a die-cast body. The model sports all the piping of the prototype save some minor lubricator lines and features a full cab interior complete with painted gauges and valve handles. Every model comes with a snowplow, brakeman’s doghouse, engine crew and three different spark arrestors. In addition, there are a few specific details for each number. My sample was the 474, and it includes a tool box on the front deck of the locomotive. In fact, the model matches the major details in prototype photos perfectly. I checked the model dimensions against the rather spartan plans in MR’s Locomotive Cyclopedia and every major dimension was correct. Copies of the original ALCO erection drawings are available from the John Maxwell Collection (www.colong.com), but I was unable to locate my set before deadline. Careful comparison to dozens of prototype photos gives me absolutely no reason to believe anything is dimensionally amiss.

Mountain Models Division of Precision Scale Models PO Box 278 Stevensville, MT 59870 0n30 DC1023-1 to -11: D&RGW K-28, painted black and graphite D&RGW herald, Nos. 470-479 and unlettered, respectively DC1025-1 to -10: D&RGW K-28, painted black and graphite with flying Rio Grande herald, Nos. 470-479, respectively DC1027-1 to -10: D&RGW K-28 painted with green boiler and D&RGW herald, Nos. 470-479, respectively DC1029-1 to -3: D&RGW K-28 painted with green boiler and flying Rio Grande herald, Nos. 470, 473 and 478, respectively DC1031-1: D&RGW K-28 painted Bumble Bee, lettered D&RGW, #473 0n3 DC1013-1 to -10: D&RGW K-28, painted black and graphite D&RGW herald, Nos. 470-479, respectively DC1015-1 to -10: D&RGW K-28, painted black and graphite with flying Rio Grande herald, Nos. 470-479, respectively DC1017-1 to -10: D&RGW K-28 painted with green boiler and D&RGW herald, Nos. 470-479, respectively DC1019-1 to -3: D&RGW K-28 painted with green boiler and flying Rio Grande herald, Nos. 470, 473 and 478, respectively DC1021-1: D&RGW K-28 painted Bumble Bee, lettered D&RGW, #473 MSRP $549.00

As much as I heaped praise on the K-27 model, there were a few appearance issues I felt could have been improved. The new K-28 is noticeably thinner on both the tender tank flange and the cab walls. The boiler jacket clamps are also now smaller. The rounded front cab corners and correct injector piping are the icing on the cake for a locomotive whose overall appearance is absolutely excellent. The ONLY thing I could find to nit-pick (and hey that’s my job) is that the corners of the cab roof vent could have been more rounded. If your joy in the hobby is finding fault with models, you’ll soon discover the pickin’s here are extremely slim to non-existent. There is a new king-of-the-hill in die-cast locomotives, and it is the MMI K-28.

The model comes in several paint schemes. You have the choice of the post 1940 “Flying Rio Grande” in both black/graphite or with the green boiler and cylinder jackets, and the “Scenic Line” herald in black and graphite or with green boiler jacket. The 473 is also offered in the so-called “bumble bee” scheme. Originally applied to 2-8-0 268 in conjunction with the 1949 World’s Fair, a variation of it was applied to 473 in the early 1950s for a forgettable movie. The locomotive featured a “Grande Gold” cab and tender tank, black stripes and brass boiler bands, along with a box headlight and phony diamond stack. While short-lived on the 473, this scheme was the genesis for the gold and silver passenger car scheme the Silverton coaches wear to this day. My sample was the pre-1940 “Scenic Line” scheme with green jacketing. I give Mountain Models very high marks on the decoration.

Color separation on the green boiler scheme is excellent, and all dimensional data is correct and properly located. In addition, the builder’s and superheater plates are completely legible under magnification, and really enhance the appearance of the smokebox.

The model comes from the factory DCC ready and equipped with a 9-pin harness installed in the locomotive. Also installed is a GME sound cam on the first axle to activate the exhaust chuff on sound decoders with that capability. The tender is drilled for a speaker and is equipped with a backup light. Unlike the K-27, this locomotive has no sound system. With all the new sound decoders becoming available, MMI felt it was best to allow the consumer to install their choice of system. The model has working marker lamps and numberboards along with the head and backup lights.

It’s always exciting when a company makes a good thing better, and Mountain Models has done that with their second release. Like the K-27 before it, it combines outstanding detail with solid performance, but both areas have been enhanced. Available in both On30 and On3, this model is an excellent representation of one of the most photographed and popular locomotives in the world.

This review originally appeared in the April 2006 Model Railroading.