This lineup of three switch engines was photographed in Salida in 1890. No. 213 was a narrow-gauge 1881 Grant-built 2-8-0, No. 576 was a standard-gauge 1889 Baldwin 2-8-0, and N. 218 was another narrow-gauge Grant 2-8-0. Note the arrangement of coupler pockets on the locomotives, which enabled them to handle either standard- or narrow-gauge cars. The D&RG seldom purchased new switch engines (No. 106 in Salida being one early notable exception) until the diesel era. Instead, old, small, or surplus road locomotives were converted for switching duty by adding front and rear footboards, as well as rear headlights, as these three locomotives demonstrated.
John Ophus Collection.