Working on the three K-28s

This critique is in response to Mike Trent's request. These handsome engines with the homely face are perhaps the most familiar to railfans, as they have operated continously since their delivery from American Locomotive in 1923, on the king of the tourist roads, the Silverton.
Crews liked these engines the best of any other 2-8-2s. They were excellent riders and had very responsive throttles, gaining them the moniker "sports models". You could run them at higher speeds than the two bigger classes K-36 and 37, and for that reason were often found holding down passenger asssignments as well as taking over the very long run from Alamosa to Santa Fe from the big-drivered class T-12s. The good riding capabilities obviously come from the trailing truck being directly unbder the cab, not having the overhang the bigger engines had.
They were touchy engines to fire , as they had a smaller firebox and the Master Mechanic front end baffle system, which I felt was inferior to the Cyclone design the in the 80s and 90s. The way these engines liked to be fired was a huge pile in the back of the firebox, by the door, and almost nothing,and I mean nothing in the front.
473.This is perhaps the most photographed of all narrow gauge engines in the world. Otto Perry took over 1100 photos of this engine alone. It saw lots of use. Like many 2-8-2s, it worked out of Salida. Later it ran on the line to Old Santa Fe. It worked the San Juan the most frequently. It also received the first fake stack and the "Grande Gold" paint job. An interesting aside- Ernie Ross (the Grande's lead painter) told me the officials were very interested in how the 1950 paint job would look. They said they planned to paint all passenger engines , steam and diesel, this color. As it turned out, the diesel units did receive the paint design. 473 was in a couple of bad derailments, but it always was a very smooth rider. At some point it reportedly received the valves of a 480- and old-timeers claimed it could pull as much as a 480. Like the 478 ,the 473 received a power reverse in the early 1950s. This was because the Grande anticipated the downgrading of these engines to Durango switchers, and because some very old engineers requested them. They were not successful as the heavy trains and steep climb up to Silverton caused back pressure from running gear to beat against the power reverse, ruining the seals and minimizing the ability to hold a setting properly. So in the 1980s the 473 and 478 received convetional manual cutoofs.
476. This was the favorite. It ran well and always had a manual cutoff. It was used in freight service on Cumbres as late as 1967. All three of the remaining 470s were badly abused by the D&RGW as the Silverton became more popular. The tapered cylinder bolts worked loose and the cylinder s worked loose from the frame and the smokebox. This situation got worse, causing its retirement in the 1990s.
478. "The Lumber Wagon". This rig has the longest history on the SIlverton Branch, being photograped in the late 1930s on the line.( The first K-class ran up there in 1928, after heavier rail was laid) It was the first to receive a power reverse, in 1950. For some reason it rode harder than the other two engines, picking up and telegraphing each joint on the railroad. Also it could pull a little less than the other two. Naturally, this was the engine I always caught! Like most of the engines I worked, it would respond well to an engineer who coaxed it.
The consensus was that this class was badly abused, and were the most worn-out of the 2-8-2s. Alco was a good builder, but these engines were a little harder to repair than 480s, especially in running gear work. Thge engines each went through three fireboxes. This is from abuse, but also from the box being maybe too small for the engine size. The engines certainly could not hold a fire as long as the 80s or 90s. They were very comfortable engines to work on. The fireman had a level firing floor as well as a high firebox door to throw into. Also the coal didn't have to go far. The engineer had a well-placed throttle. Due to its long stack, it was a clean engine to work on.
Little is known of the 7 K-28s that went to Alaska. 470 had a reputation as a poor steamer. 474 was the only engine in the class that was never set up for passenger service (steam heat and alarm system), and it was a regular freight hog out of Gunnison.
All in all these were great engines to work on. It is a shame they we so beat-up.