Re: "Requisitions" & the RGS

Thanks for all the input gang. Several folks asked me why the DRGW "let go" the 470's when they had other engines around. As El Coke pointed out, after the abandonment of the Santa Fe Branch, and the demise of the Shavano, there was a surplus of 470's.
Typical K-28 line up pre-Nov. 1940:
Salida : 2 engines (one for Shavano, one spare)
Gunnison: 1 engine (for Crested Butte Br)
Santa Fe Br: 2 engines
San Juan: 2 engines
Chama: 1 engine (protection for San Juan - see photos in Dorman's book)
Total- 8 engines
Which leaves on spare in Alamosa and Durango.
If you allow for boiler washes and repairs, at least one engine would be down at any one time.
By removing the Shavano, Chili Line and substituting a K-36 for Crested Butte and the Chama spare, we eliminated 6 engines. All the 480's except 487 were set up with signal and steam heat lines for passenger service, so any one of them could be pressed in passenger service. Interestingly, 487 spent a bit of time on the Crested Butte Br in the the 40's replacing 474, the only K-28 not set up for passenger service.
K-27's, despite being a bit smaller and older, were more useful. They could handle the Silverton Branch (which was also handled by 375). In addition they were helpers out of Montrose and used all over the RGS, a job which K-28's were too heavy for.