Rio Grande C-18 #319 Mystery Paint

Rio Grande C-18 class locomotive #319 was featured in a supporting role in the motion picture “Denver & Rio Grande” – a very fictionalized version of the battle for the right-of-way through the Royal Gorge. The movie was shot on the Rio Grande’s Silverton branch between June 26 and July 23, 1951.

C-16 class #268 was the “hero” locomotive in the film, still wearing remnants of the “Grande Gold” paint scheme first applied in 1949 for the Chicago Railroad Fair. The cab and tender were painted the same bright yellow that was being used on Rio Grande diesel locomotives at the time. For the movie, C-19 class #345 became the “stunt double” for #268, painted similar with “268” on its cab and number plate. The #319 and #345 were used in the head-on wreck staged on July 17, 1951.

In the film #319 appears in a “Grande Gold” paint scheme similar to #268 and #345. The accompanying photo – which must have been taken sometime in June 1951 – shows the beginning of a different paint scheme. The locomotive has the movie smokestack, single air pump, and some trim as it appears in the film, but the black cab has been painted with what appears to be a light yellow “319” and the black tender has a light yellow box with what appears to be a red border.

Does anyone happen to know the story behind this mystery photo?

The story of films made on the Denver & Rio Grande Western, Durango & Silverton, and Cumbres & Toltec narrow gauge lines is told in the book “Hollywood’s Railroads, Volume Three: Narrow Gauge Country.” Learn more at [www.CochetopaPress.biz].