Two remaining engines may have been in tough shape by end

Working with what you have

 By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com

At its peak the company amassed sixty miles of railroad. The New Mexico Lumber Company had five logging locomotives, one geared and four rod. The rod locomotives were mostly obsolete, obtained second-hand from the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad with one from Rio Grande and Southwestern Railroad at El Vado. 

"The Montezuma Lumber Company, which took over in 1936, decreased the trackage substantially and reduced the locomotives to two. Most of the 45 flat cars came from nearby declining operations. Second hand track was imported from Salida and Pagosa Springs. 

 

In the 1930s, the Montezuma Lumber Company purchased an 1880 duckbill coach (#311) from the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad to transport employees and their families to Dolores behind the regular lumber train. On Saturday nights the train transported the townspeople to Dolores for dances, movies and drinking in the gas-illuminated car with faded red plush seats.," 

says historian Lisa Mausolf, in her field notes at the Library of Congress, August, in 1981.  

"The end of narrow gauge logging in southwest Colorado came in 1932 when the expense of hauling lumber by rail gave way to hauling by trucks. The five miles of track between McPhee and Dolores remained, however, and continued to service McPhee residents. The scrapping of the last of this segment occurred in 1948, after an intense struggle and a brief period of receivership in the 1940's the Denver and Rio Grande Southern Railroad abandoned operations in the area," she wrote.

The two remaining engines were said to have been in somewhat rough shape by then, and might have been dangerous to operate.

Engine 271 was sold to the Montezuma Lumber Company in Dec. 1941. 271 was scrapped sometime in 1947 after the Montezuma Lumber Company burned its crown sheet.

346 went to Montezuma Lumber Company on May 19, 1947.

The story goes Montezuma Lumber Company was a bit careless about their locomotives and 271 was not the first locomotive of theirs to get ruined by a burned crown sheet. Montezuma Lumber Company tried to rent or lease an engine from the D&RGW or the RGS, but both declined, knowing how well Montezuma Lumber Company treated their past locomotives. Finally the D&RGW sold them the 346.

In steam engines and boilers, "burning the crown sheet" refers to a dangerous condition where the water level drops too low, exposing the top of the firebox (the crown sheet) to extreme, un-cooled heat. Without water to absorb the heat, the metal weakens, softens, and can cause a massive boiler explosion.

Locomotive boiler explosions were catastrophic events that plagued early rail networks, caused primarily by an overheated crown sheet when water levels dropped too low. Colorado's rugged mountain railways saw several notable blasts, with one of the most famous occurring in 1952 when Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) locomotive 3703 exploded in Louviers, south of Denver, killing four people. 

Colorado’s extensive rail history saw several of these destructive failures, notably:  

Louviers (1952): On October 19, 1952, the boiler of Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad locomotive No. 3703 exploded. The blast, caused by a low water condition that led to an overheated crown sheet, killed all four men aboard. The explosion tore the boiler apart, throwing it 260 feet from the tracks. 

Denver & Interurban Line (1925): On January 27, 1925, a Colorado and Southern freight locomotive’s boiler violently exploded while hauling cars from the Boulder County coal fields to Denver. The blast killed the engineer and fireman, and threw the wrecked boiler across the parallel Denver and Interurban tracks. 

Denver & Rio Grande Western (1941): In 1941, locomotive No. 1804 suffered a severe boiler explosion while moving through the Burnham Yards in Denver. The boiler was completely ripped from the frame and thrown over a secondary engine. 

The boiler exploded on D&RGW Class M-68 4-8-4 steam locomotive #1804 just north of the Burnham Shops in Denver, CO, on Feb. 4 ,1941

 

Additionally, there were several rather spectacular boiler explosions in the preceding century in Colorado., on its pioneering roads: 

 

Date: circa 1895. Debris from the Engine 35 explosion litters the tracks of the Colorado and Midland Railroad in Basalt, Colorado in Eagle County. Metal grates, wheels, and scraps from the locomotive are piled next to the tracks. A large locomotive wheel is on the opposite sides of the track. Spectators gather around the wreckage. Several people stand on top of the piles of debris. Wood-frame buildings are in the background.  Hand-written on back of photoprint: Procured for me by Midberry of Basalt, R.W. and C.L. Daniels in Basalt Book. Title hand-written on back of photoprint.  

Denver Public Library Special Collections 

These deadly events led to strict federal oversight, including rigorous inspections mandated by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), to ensure water levels and safety valves were meticulously maintained.