Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 340
Specifications
| Road Name | Denver & Rio Grande Western |
| Number | 340 |
| Original Railroad | Denver & Rio Grande Railway (later Denver & Rio Grande Western) |
| Builder | Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, PA |
| Build Date | 1881 |
| Wheel Arrangement | 2-8-0 Consolidation (class C-19) |
| Gauge | 3 ft narrow gauge |
| Weight | ~74,260 lb |
| Tractive Effort | 18,947 lbf |
| Boiler Pressure | Unknown (not publicly documented) |
| Driver Diameter | 37 in |
| Years Operated | 1881–early 1950s (D&RGW revenue service); 1952–present (Knott's Berry Farm, as No. 40); 2026 special excursions on D&SNG |
| Current Status | Operational — completed major mechanical rebuild at D&SNG shops 2024–2025; special Colorado excursions scheduled 2026 |
| Current Location | Durango, Colorado (2024–2026 rebuild and excursion loan to the D&SNG); permanent home is Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, California |
| Current Owner | Knott's Berry Farm (operated on loan by the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for 2026 excursions) |
No. 340 is a narrow-gauge 2-8-0 “Consolidation” type steam locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia in 1881 as Denver & Rio Grande Railway No. 400, a class C-19 engine built to the railroad’s standard 3-foot narrow gauge. It worked the D&RGW’s Colorado narrow-gauge network for more than seventy years, hauling freight and passengers over mountain grades in the San Juans and beyond, before being retired from Rio Grande service in the early 1950s as diesel power and line abandonments reshaped the system. Only three C-19 Consolidations of this type survive today.
In the early 1950s, theme park pioneer Walter Knott began purchasing retired Rio Grande and Rio Grande Southern narrow-gauge equipment to anchor his Ghost Town & Calico Railroad attraction at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. No. 340 arrived at Knott’s in 1952, was renumbered 40, and was converted from coal to oil firing for park operation. For more than seven decades it has carried millions of guests around the Calico Railroad’s loop, making it one of the longest continuously operating steam locomotives in the country, if far from its original mountain-railroad element.
In 2024, No. 340 returned to Colorado for the first time since the early 1950s, traveling to the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad’s shops for a comprehensive mechanical rebuild — the first time in generations that the locomotive’s home narrow-gauge shop culture, and mechanics who work daily on sister K-class Rio Grande engines, has had a hand in its upkeep. Following the 2024–2025 rebuild, No. 340 is scheduled to headline a limited series of special excursions over its original Colorado rails in 2026 before returning to its permanent home and owner, Knott’s Berry Farm, in California.