Rio Grande Southern No. 41
Overview
Rio Grande Southern No. 41 is a preserved three-foot-gauge C-19 class 2-8-0 Consolidation built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1881. Originally constructed as Denver & Rio Grande No. 409, Red Cliff, it was sold to the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in 1916 and renumbered 41.
In November 1951, the locomotive was purchased by Walter Knott for the new railroad at Knott’s Berry Farm. No. 41 subsequently became one of the principal steam locomotives of the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad, which formally opened in 1952.
No. 41 is historically significant in two distinct contexts. It is an authentic survivor of Colorado’s narrow-gauge railroad network and a cornerstone of operating railroad preservation in Southern California.
Quick Facts
| Original Railroad | Denver & Rio Grande |
| Later Railroad | Rio Grande Southern Railroad |
| Original Number | 409 |
| Later Number | 41 |
| Original Name | Red Cliff |
| Knott’s Name | Walter K. |
| Wheel Arrangement | 2-8-0 Consolidation |
| Class | C-19 |
| Track Gauge | 3 feet |
| Builder | Baldwin Locomotive Works |
| Built | 1881 |
| Sold to RGS | 1916 |
| Purchased by Walter Knott | November 1951 |
| Current Railroad | Ghost Town & Calico Railroad |
| Location | Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, California |
| Status | Operationally preserved |
Denver & Rio Grande No. 409
No. 41 began its career as Denver & Rio Grande No. 409, one of 12 C-19 class 2-8-0 locomotives built by Baldwin in 1881. The locomotive carried the name Red Cliff.
The 2-8-0 wheel arrangement became known as the Consolidation type. With eight driving wheels, these locomotives offered the traction needed for freight service while remaining suitable for the curves and lighter infrastructure of a narrow-gauge mountain railroad.
The C-19 Class
The C-19 designation described three-foot-gauge Consolidations with approximately 19,000 pounds of tractive effort.
No. 41 and Knott’s companion locomotive No. 340 are closely related C-19 locomotives, both constructed by Baldwin in 1881. They share a mechanical heritage but followed different paths before entering preservation in California.
Becoming Rio Grande Southern No. 41
In 1916, the Denver & Rio Grande sold No. 409 to the Rio Grande Southern Railroad. The locomotive was renumbered 41 and later classified as a C-19.
The Rio Grande Southern served the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. On the RGS, No. 41 became part of a railroad that relied heavily on older and secondhand equipment.
Working for the Rio Grande Southern
No. 41 handled the practical work of a mountain railroad rather than glamorous named trains. RGS operations included freight, mining traffic, supplies, mail, passengers, and the everyday material needed by isolated communities.
During the railroad’s later years, locomotives such as No. 41 became symbols of a disappearing form of Western railroading.
Purchased by Walter Knott
In November 1951, No. 41 was sold to Walter Knott for use on the railroad he was developing at Knott’s Berry Farm.
Knott acquired an authentic seventy-year-old Colorado narrow-gauge locomotive and placed it back into regular operation. The move began a second career that eventually became much longer than No. 41’s time on either original Colorado railroad.
From Red Cliff to Walter K.
No. 41’s history is reflected in the identities it has carried: Red Cliff as Denver & Rio Grande No. 409, No. 41 on the Rio Grande Southern, and Walter K. at Knott’s Berry Farm.
The Walter K. name, placed on its cab in 2012, honors the person whose decision to purchase and operate the locomotive ensured its survival.
More Than Seven Decades at Knott’s
Walter Knott purchased No. 41 in November 1951, and it has operated on the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad since the railroad formally opened in 1952.
The locomotive has carried generations of park visitors around the five-eighths-mile loop. For many Southern Californians, it provided a first close encounter with a full-size operating steam locomotive.
No. 41 and No. 340
No. 41 shares the railroad with D&RGW No. 340, originally Denver & Rio Grande No. 400, Green River. Both are Baldwin-built three-foot-gauge C-19 Consolidations dating to 1881.
No. 340 remained associated with the Denver & Rio Grande and Denver & Rio Grande Western. No. 41 spent approximately 35 years with the Rio Grande Southern. Together they preserve the class; individually they tell different stories.
Return to Colorado
No. 41 returned to Colorado for rebuilding by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Work was completed in November 2023, followed by test runs from Durango toward Rockwood.
The locomotive returned to Knott’s Berry Farm in December 2023 and resumed its Southern California preservation career.
Restoring a Working Artifact
A working steam locomotive cannot remain mechanically frozen in the year it was built. Boilers, running gear, appliances, bearings, piping, and other systems require inspection, repair, rebuilding, or replacement.
No. 41 has survived not because it went untouched, but because successive generations maintained, rebuilt, and operated it.
Why No. 41 Matters
No. 41 connects the early narrow-gauge expansion of the Denver & Rio Grande, the mountain operations of the Rio Grande Southern, the decline of Colorado narrow-gauge common-carrier service, Walter Knott’s preservation work, and more than seven decades of public interpretation in Southern California.
It was a working locomotive in Colorado, a Rio Grande Southern survivor, and ultimately a long-lived operating railroad-preservation artifact in California.
Preservation Status
Rio Grande Southern No. 41 remains part of the operating locomotive collection at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California.
Following its rebuilding and 2023 test operations in Colorado, it returned to the Ghost Town & Calico Railroad. No. 41 is preserved not merely as an object, but as a functioning component of the railroad Walter Knott created to showcase Western history.
Related Railroads
- Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
- Ghost Town & Calico Railroad
- Rio Grande Southern Railroad
Related Locations
- Knott’s Berry Farm
Related Topics
- Walter Knott
- D&RGW C-19 Class
- D&RGW No. 340
- Rio Grande Southern Motor No. 3
- Baldwin Locomotive Works
- Narrow-Gauge Railroad
- 2-8-0 Consolidation
Gallery
Photo gallery coming soon.
Western Rail Archive Notes
No. 41 is not merely a Colorado locomotive that happens to live in California. Its California history is now longer than either original railroad career. The names Red Cliff, No. 41, and Walter K. together document its transformation from working railroad equipment into a long-lived piece of operating railroad history in Southern California.
Archive Status
| Page Status | Category | Type | Gallery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational Article | Equipment | Locomotive | In Development |