Western Weighing & Inspection Bureau #910 was based in Denver, CO, for many years. WWIB Test Weight Car #910, Colorado Railroad It was used in Colorado and Wyoming to check track scales used to weigh loaded cars.
The locomotive was built in 1881 for the narrow gauge D&RG as class 70 #406 "Cumbres" by Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co., an early incarnation of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. It started work on the steep grades of Marshall Pass and along the Gunnison Extension (Third Division) with the other Class 70s. In 1903, it moved to the San Juan Extension to Chama, coping with the 4% grades of Cumbres Pass, but also worked over most of the D&RG 36" narrow gauge system. #406 was re-numbered #346 and reclassed C-19 in July 1924 three years after the D&RG was taken over from bankruptcy by the newly formed Denver & Rio Grande Western. Early in 1936, it was transported by standard gauge flat car to the Colorado & Southern Railway in Denver, along with #343 and #345, and started work between Denver and Leadville. On 25th July that year, #346 was working as a helper out of Como on an eastbound freight and, after cutting off at the top of Kenosha Pass, it headed east running light towards Denver. However, the engineer lost control of the locomotive, which overturned on a curve just below the summit. In the Kenosha derailment, the engine suffered significant cosmetic damage, although the engineer was killed. After repairs in the Burlington/C&S Denver shops, #346 returned to service with a new steel cab, new steam dome cover and sand dome, and various other replacement parts. It worked on the C&S until April 1937, when it was shipped back to the D&RGW along with #343 and #345. In 1947, the locomotive was sold to the Montezuma Lumber Company to haul lumber on a five-mile line between McPhee and Dolores, CO. The following year, a fire destroyed the McPhee sawmill and ended #346's operational service life. Following the sawmill fire, the engine was stored on a spur track in Dolores for nearly two years, It was sold to Booker Junkyard in March 1948 and then to the Narrow Gauge Motel in Alamosa, CO. In 1958, #346 was sold to Robert Richardson of Alamosa, CO, who then sold it to the museum. After extensive work the locomotive returned to steam in 2007. A coal burner, #346 weighs 74,260 lbs, 64,000 lbs on its 36.5" drivers. With Stephenson valve gear, 16" x 20" cylinders and operating at a boiler pressure of 160 psi, it delivers 18,947 lbs tractive effort. The tender weighs 530,000 lbs light and has a capacity of 2,500 gallons of water and 6 tons of coal.
