The Rio Grande Southern (RGS) was another 3-foot gauge railroad that was created in 1891 by Otto Mears. Unfortunately, after the Sherman Silver Purchase Act’s repeal in 1893, the railroad fell onto hard times, where it remained for the remainder of it’s years. I have a few photographs from the former collection of Mr. William H. Radcliffe that I’ll be showing here over the next several weeks.

I’ll start with this rather unflattering image of RGS locomotive #6. She’s of a 2-8-0 wheel arrangement, and was built by Baldwin in 1881 as a class C-60 (later C-19) for the D&RG as their #246. It was acquired by the RGS in 1891, and then returned to the (now) D&RGW in 1938, where she was scrapped.

This photograph was taken in Durango, Colorado in about 1923 by an unknown photographer.

Collection of Jack C. Shall