Colorado Consols, Bruce A. Metcalf

Chapter 3: Road Number to Builder Number Cross Reference Tables for Rio Grande Core Roads

Most questions about locomotives begin with a particular locomotive, it's owner and road number. This section provides a set of cross reference tables identifying the builder and construction number for the different road numbers assigned by each of the operating roads. This chapter lists road numbers and road names assigned by the Rio Grande core roads. The next chapter gives references to road numbers and names assigned by other companies.

Due to rebuildings and conflicting records, the tracking of construction numbers is not without confusion. Generally, I have tracked the boiler, as it usually carried the builder's plate, unless the railroad kept the same road number attached to the frame instead. Notes in the chapters on individual locomotives attempt to identify these rebuildings.

Where two different locomotives were assigned the same road numbers, these are distinguished by colons, as in #13:1 and #13:2, indicating the first and second #13, respectively. Where a road number is listed twice without a colon, as in #140, the locomotive bearing that number was constructed from parts belonging originally to two different locomotives--the first number cited identifies the principal part (generally the boiler), and the number prefixed with a + identifies the related part (generally the engine--frame and cylinders). Construction numbers are for the Baldwin Locomotive Works, unless otherwise indicated by the following codes: