# Denver & Rio Grande 340: Knott's Berry Farm Steam Train in Colorado https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJ8OgpL8Iq0 Translation: zh-CN [00:11] Heat. [00:30] If you've ever been to Knottberry Farm [00:32] theme park in Southern California, you [00:35] probably recognize this steam [00:37] locomotive. This is Denver and Rio Grand [00:40] Western number 340, a little narrow [00:43] gauge C19 class locomotive built way [00:46] back in 1881 by the Baldwin Locomotive [00:49] Works. Back then, it was numbered 400 [00:52] and burned coal for fuel rather than the [00:55] oil that now provides sustenance for the [00:57] engine's firebox. [00:59] It was built with a set of two pilot [01:02] wheels and eight driving wheels and was [01:04] primarily used to pull freight trains in [01:06] Colorado and New Mexico. Eventually, the [01:09] Rio Grand purchased larger locomotives [01:12] and the 340 was demoted to branch line [01:15] service, finishing off its career in [01:17] Montrose, Colorado in 1951, some 70 [01:21] years after it was built. From there, it [01:24] caught the eye of a one Walter not who [01:27] was in the midst of procuring a [01:28] collection of narrow gauge rail [01:30] equipment. Walter wanted to build a [01:33] replica old west town complete with a [01:35] railroad to entertain guests visiting [01:38] his Boenberry farm and restaurant in [01:40] Buena Park, California. So he purchased [01:44] the 340, brought it back to Southern [01:46] California, converted it to burn oil, [01:48] and debuted it on his Ghost Town and [01:51] Calico Railroad in 1952 as one of the [01:54] first attractions at Knottberry Farm [01:56] theme park. And the rest, as they say, [01:59] is history. [02:01] Growing up in Southern California, I had [02:03] a number of my own experiences with the [02:05] 340. I saw it many times over the years [02:08] visiting Knottberry Farm, and it quickly [02:10] became one of my favorite narrow gauge [02:12] locomotives. It even spurred my interest [02:15] in the narrow gauge railroads of [02:17] Colorado as a whole. So, you may have [02:20] noticed by now that this very clearly [02:22] isn't Southern California. And the [02:24] questions that naturally follow are, [02:26] where on earth is the 340, and why isn't [02:29] it at Knottberry Farm? 340 has operated [02:33] in a clockwise circle around Knottberry [02:35] Farm for nearly 75 years. During that [02:38] time, the locomotive has been well cared [02:41] for by the park, but it was in need of a [02:43] major overhaul. In 2024, Knots [02:47] contracted with the folks at the Durango [02:49] and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad out [02:51] in Durango, Colorado to completely [02:53] rebuild the 340. The park had previously [02:56] contracted with Durango to rebuild their [02:59] other steam locomotive, Rio Grand [03:01] Southern number 41, which just so [03:04] happens to be another C19 class [03:06] locomotive. 340 was loaded onto a truck [03:10] in early 2024 and left the theme park [03:13] for the first time since arriving there [03:15] in the 1950s. In the two plus years that [03:18] followed, the locomotive was completely [03:20] stripped down and thoroughly rebuilt one [03:23] component at a time. Finally, in the [03:26] spring of 2026, 340 was nearing the end [03:29] of its rebuild in Colorado. Now, in its [03:32] own right, the Durango in Silverton is [03:34] an incredible railroad with 45 mi of [03:38] original Rio Grand Rail through the [03:40] mountains and river valleys of [03:42] southwestern Colorado. 340 undoubtedly [03:45] operated over these rails many times in [03:48] years past. Recognizing the history and [03:51] this incredibly unique opportunity, the [03:53] Durango and Silverton worked with Knots [03:55] to offer a few public excursions with [03:57] the 340 back on home rails before it [04:00] returned to the theme park for several [04:02] more decades of pulling passengers on [04:05] the ghost town in Calico. If viewing the [04:08] 340 running in Colorado for the first [04:10] time in 3/4 of a century is something [04:12] you'd like to see, welcome aboard [04:14] because we're heading once again back to [04:16] Durango. [04:21] Through the magic of teleportation, we [04:24] arrive back in Durango, Colorado in [04:26] early June of 2026. My original plan was [04:29] to arrive into Durango the day prior to [04:32] the first public excursions. However, on [04:35] a hunch that the railroad might be [04:37] running some test runs of the locomotive [04:39] in advance, I was able to change my [04:41] plans and arrive into Durango a few days [04:43] early. Hey everyone, it's uh Monday, [04:47] June 1st, 2026, and we are here in [04:51] beautiful, sunny Durango, Colorado. Um [04:54] it's about 9:20 in the morning, and they [04:58] are apparently just about to do a test [05:00] run with the 340. So, we'll uh see what [05:05] happens. [05:24] The first test run of the 340 had [05:27] actually occurred on Friday, May 29th. [05:30] After taking the weekend off, the crew [05:32] was out again to test the locomotive on [05:34] a trip from Durango up the grade, at [05:37] least as far as Rockwood. Around 10:30, [05:40] the 340 pulled out of Durango with a [05:42] short train. [06:20] Heat. Heat. [07:06] 340's whistle echoed hauntingly through [07:08] the Animus River Valley as it passed [07:10] through an area known as Trimble. Oh, [07:33] heat. [07:45] After a servicing stop in Hermosa, 340 [07:48] took on the 2 1/2% grade as it climbed [07:51] toward Rockwood. [08:19] A few miles ahead at Pinkerton, 340 [08:22] encountered a problem. The train backed [08:24] down the hill to Hermosa for some [08:26] repairs and then returned to Durango [08:28] later in the afternoon. [08:57] I began Tuesday, June 2nd, by catching [09:00] some of the regular tourist trains on [09:02] the Durango and Silverton. The busy [09:04] summer season for the railroad was in [09:06] full swing with multiple other train [09:09] trips scheduled daily. Recently back [09:11] from overhaul and conversion from coal [09:13] to oil was K36 type locomotive number [09:16] 481. [09:21] This was the 481's first week back in [09:23] service following its oil conversion [09:30] down at the engine house. 340 was tucked [09:32] into one of the stalls receiving some [09:34] additional attention before attempting [09:36] another test run. In one of the adjacent [09:39] births was locomotive 346, another [09:42] Denver and Rio Grand C19 locomotive. 346 [09:46] was receiving work before returning home [09:48] to the Colorado Railroad Museum. It was [09:50] definitely quite a sight to see two Rio [09:52] Grand C19 class consolidation [09:55] locomotives together in the Durango [09:57] Roundhouse for the first time since the [09:59] 1950s. [10:01] Later in the day, 340 was out again on [10:04] another test run. This time running [10:06] solo. [10:26] The locomotive went as far as Event [10:28] Park, just a few miles north of Durango. [10:32] 340 was turned on the Y and then [10:34] proceeded back to the roundhouse. [10:51] Heat. [11:34] On Wednesday, June 3rd, the 340 departed [11:37] Durango early in the morning on a round [11:39] trip to Cascade Canyon. I caught the [11:42] train on its return trip to Durango at [11:44] the Highway 250 crossing near Rockwood. [12:17] Heat. [12:56] 340 made a fifth and final test run on [12:59] the morning of Thursday, June 4th. On [13:02] this day, the locomotive departed [13:04] Durango shortly after the second [13:05] regularly scheduled train. Joining the [13:08] 340 on this trip to Cascade Canyon was a [13:11] set of cars that almost looked like a [13:13] recreated mixed passenger and freight [13:15] train out of the days of the Rio Grand. [13:41] Heat. [15:41] Heat. [15:52] Seeing the 340 rip up the Animus River [15:55] Valley at 20 m an hour was quite a [15:57] sight, especially considering that my [16:00] previous experiences with the locomotive [16:02] had it running at less than 10 m an hour [16:04] around the theme park. [16:26] With the last test run completed [16:28] successfully, 340 was ready to pull its [16:30] first revenue trains over Rio Grand [16:33] Rails in 3/4 of a century. [16:39] Heat. Heat. [17:10] The Durango and Silverton offered [17:12] tickets for three special excursions [17:14] behind the 340. On Friday, June 5th, and [17:18] Saturday, June 6th, the locomotive [17:20] pulled round trips from Durango to [17:22] Cascade Canyon. Departure was set for [17:25] 9:15 in the morning with a 2:15 p.m. [17:28] scheduled arrival back into Durango. [17:36] Heat. [18:07] The excursion const featured a mix of [18:09] passenger cars and caboose0540. [18:13] Box car 3631 also joined the train for [18:16] the June 5th excursion. Included in the [18:19] contest was Denver and Rio Grand combine [18:22] car number 211. This is another piece of [18:26] narrow gauge rail equipment that the [18:27] Durango and Silverton was contracted to [18:30] rebuild. 211 was brought back from a [18:33] very sorry state of rotting wood and no [18:35] wheels or trucks to this beautiful piece [18:38] of craftsmanship that quite arguably [18:40] looked better than it did when it rolled [18:42] off the Jackson and Sharp Car Company [18:45] shop floors back in 1881. [18:48] After the weekend's trips, the car was [18:50] set to return to permanent display in [18:52] Lake City, Colorado. [19:17] It was quite a spectacle to see the [19:19] little consolidation locomotive working [19:21] hard up the grades on the former Denver [19:23] and Rio Grand Narrow gauge for the first [19:25] time in 75 years. [19:57] Heat. Heat. [23:16] You'll see a lot of [23:30] Heat. [24:19] Heat. [24:21] Heat. [24:21] Heat. Heat. Heat. [25:42] The last day of 340's public trips over [25:44] of the Durango and Silverton was Sunday, [25:46] June 7th. An all-day photographers [25:49] special excursion was planned with a [25:51] departure from Durango scheduled for [25:53] 7:00 a.m. and return set for 5:00 in the [25:56] afternoon. [26:03] Rail enthusiasts had traveled from all [26:05] over the country to see the locomotive [26:07] on what may very well be its only [26:09] excursion trips outside of Knottberry [26:11] Farm. The train headed for Rockwood and [26:14] then performed photo runbys at five [26:16] different locations. [26:47] Heat. [28:15] Heat. Heat. [28:52] Yeah, I did. But it was crazy. [29:09] Heat. Heat. [30:13] Heat [30:31] . Heat. [30:37] Heat. [31:12] Heat. [31:22] Heat. [32:03] Heat. [32:37] Heat. Heat. [33:57] Heat up here. [34:14] A stop was made at Tacoma to allow the [34:16] two excursion trains to Silverton to [34:18] pass by. [34:32] Heat. Heat. [34:56] Heat [35:07] up [35:13] Heat [35:24] up here. [35:51] Heat [35:54] up here. [36:17] Heat up [36:31] Heat. [37:02] With fuel running low in the locomotives [37:04] tender, the train proceeded back to [37:06] Rockwood. There, the 340 would be [37:08] refueled and then continue on to [37:10] Durango. [37:23] California. [37:25] >> I'm sure they wouldn't [37:45] Heat. [38:10] Heat. [38:54] Heat. [39:18] 340 arrived back into Durango, bringing [39:21] to a close a long successful weekend of [39:24] narrow gauge steam railroading history. [39:27] Thanks for joining me to see this unique [39:29] moment in time. As always, a special [39:31] thanks to all my supporters on Patreon. [39:34] If you would like notifications whenever [39:36] I post to YouTube, click on the [39:37] subscribe button and select the receive [39:39] all notifications option. I'll be back [39:41] next Friday at 9:00 a.m. Pacific time [39:43] for a brand new railroading adventure [39:46] right here on the YouTube channel. [39:48] That's it for now. Until next time, I'm [39:51] Mike Armstrong. I'll see you down the [39:53] line. Thanks for watching. Heat [40:08] up.