100 years ago today - the arrival of the Mudhens

Salida Mail, April 1, 1903:
"Several of the new narrow gauge compound engines have arrived and are being set up in the local shops. It is expected that one of these engines will do the work of two of the old ones. These are the first narrow gauge engines to be bought by the Rio Grande for about fifteen years. Theretofore the lessening of the narrow gauge mileage has supplied the demands of wear and tear and increased traffic, but so many of the old engines are unfit for road duty that new power must be supplied. The new engines are attracting much attention as they are the first narrow gauge compounds in the west. They will doubtless attract attention also from eastern visitors, to whom a narrow gauge engine is a curiosity.”