Re: Third axle conversions on the D&RG

There is a photo of #402, which became RGS 40, in one of the Lathrop books. Shows her with a long main rod to the third axle. Both of these locomotives were converted to standard gauge 0-8-0's in the 1890s and then converted back again to 70 class narrow gauge engines in 1899 or 1900. Apparently, the vogue at the time (witness the engines that were later to become the C-17s and 18s) was long rod connecting to third driver and this is the way the engines were set up when they were converted back to narrow gauge. There is no evidence that the engines not suffering the metamorphosis ever receive the long rods.
This must not have been advantageous to the balance of the mechanism (a lot heavier rod than originally designed) and all of the converted 1881 70 class engines were switched back to a short main rod on the second axle as God intended in the first place.