D&RG records, who can say? (The Truth Ain't Out There?)

I've always seen the 8/31/98 (at Burnham) date.
Sinces this was one to the 3 Class 42 1/2 engines supposedly designed to burn Anthracite & operate West of Grand Junction, I've always wondered why it didn't go to D&RGW Ry with its sisters (108 & 109) in 1886.

I find the 1909 date a bit hard to swallow since the Class 42.5 were not, from what I have gathered over the years, considered as good as the regular Class 42 engines, kinda were a flop, and all the 4-4-0's on the D&RG were on the way out by as early as 1888. By the end of 1898 there were only 4 left on the roster, #85 (sc 1900), #94 (1903), #96 ('03), & #100 ('08), all class 42.

OTOH, the 8/31/98 is probably the day some clerk caught up on all the paper work as several other engines are listed with the same date including #2[class 39], #26[Class 38], #90[Class 38], #101[Class 42], just from a quick glance. Of course that would imply that the actual date was possibly earlier or that this was just the day it was written off the the books and the hulk could have sat until somebody had time to cut it up.

There are several dates like this in the D&RG records, btw, with bunches of engines recorded as dism. all on the same day. The biggest is 6/30/1908 when a huge number of Class 56 engines (at least 20!) were supposedly cut up.

At this remove of time, ya pays yer money and ya takes yer choice, I guess. Unless somebody finds a picture?

Hank