Re: K-28s, basic questions

Steve,
On the White Pass the K-28's recieved few modifications, namely installation of mechanical lubricators on some or possibly all of them (the 250 class), and I think the addition of "doors" on the tender that went over the coal bunker and kept the coal dry. I could be wrong on that.
Mike is right regarding the fact that they tended to derail a lot up there, but they were actually used very heavily. #472 was in a pretty nasty wreck around 1944 and was sent to the lower 48 for repairs. After shopping, the war was over and she was offered for sale back to the D&RGW since she was in good shape. Unfortunately, the Rio Grande didn't take her. So, as the story goes, her boiler was sent to an Army Ordinance Depot in Pueblo, and that is the last anybody I've talked to seems to know about her...
Hope this helps you somehow.