" among the seven tenders below the
Skagway cemetery in the summer of 1979 was one obviously off the former
Denver & Rio Grande Western rotary snowplow. And over the decades, weather
had carefully stripped off the later layers of paint to reveal an early
1890s paint and lettering scheme for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. I
don't have the relevant files at hand, so this is off the top of my head,
but as I recall the locomotive number on the rear of the tender was 243,
but whatever number it was, it was a locomotive sold to the Rio Grande
Southern Railroad about 1893, and at the time of the sale, the D&RG must
have switched tenders, keeping the tender of that locomotive for use then
or later with a snowplow. The tender was lettered in block lettering
"Denver & Rio Grande" in mustard yellow (imitating gold) drop shaded to the
right and below with bright red. Near the top (below the flange) and
bottom of the tender were horizontal mustard yellow stripes, I think 1 1/2
inches wide, and 'inside' those, that is, below the top and above the
bottom mustard yellow strips, were horizontal bright red stripes 1/2 inch
wide. On the rear of the tender was the locomotive number, also in mustard
yellow drop shaded in bright red."
Gordon Chappell
Regional Historian
510 817-1394