DM&IR M3 / M4

[mj3200]

I have heard that in the depths of winter that the DM&IR leased their 2-8-8-4's to the D&RGW.

My question is were the tenders repainted to reflect the transfer or were they left with the original lettering, and does anybody have proof positive of their foreign service?

Thanks

Jonathan

[wjstix]

No they weren't repainted. Frank King's books on the DMIR have a couple of pics of Yellowstones in the west. It was mainly during WW2, no reason to have all that power sitting dead in Minnesota when the Rio Grande could use 'em. BTW according to King the Rio Grande wrote the Missabe saying those engines were the best engines ever to run on their line.

After the war, Rio Grande sold some 2-8-2's to the Missabe. The DMIR also for a year leased a Rio Grande mountain that was on it's way east to I think the W&LE. Only pic I've seen of it (from King's book) in Minnesota shows it still in Rio Grande lettering.

[twhite]

mj--

The Missabe indeed leased their huge, handsome, powerful M3/4 Yellowstones to the Rio Grande for several winters during WWII, where they worked mainly on the Moffat Tunnel line and the line between Denver and Pueblo.  And as the other poster said, the Rio Grande engineers agreed that they were the best steamers they'd ever operated.  M3/4's also showed up on the Great Northern and Northern Pacific for a time, and there is a rumor (unsubstantiated) that several were even loaned for a time to the Western Pacific--which would make it kind of interesting, since the M-3/4 design was actually based on the WP 251-series 2-8-8-2's.  Actually, these handsome beasties spent as much time 'off-line' as they did 'on line' during the War.  I have several photographs of them at work in Colorado in several of my Rio Grande books.  It's almost disconcerting at first to see them hauling long trains that are NOT ore cars, LOL!  The Rio Grande was very happy with them.   

Not to get off-subject, but on my own HO Rio Grande MR, I have 3 Yellowstones permanently 'on loan', working my own mountains.  They look very comfortable there, LOL!

Tom  

[selector]

And they do look marvellous on your railroad, I might say, Tom.

-Crandell