May 28, 2015 — Gene Autry collected five locomotives and kept them at the Melody Ranch property he owned in Placerita Canyon from 1952/1953 to 1990. One was the Southern Pacific Mogul Engine No. 1629, which Autry gave in 1982 to the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Today it is a static display in front of the Saugus Train Station at Heritage Junction Historic Park in Newhall.

The other was this one, Engine 463, from the Denver & Rio Grande. Newly restored for the second time since Autry returned it, Engine 463 is seen here under steam in front of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad's shop at Chama, NM.

Photo by Mike Mazzetti, SCVTV.

About Engine 463.

Known as "mudhens" because they would frequently derail on lighweight rails and scoot across the ties like a waddling hen, Engine 463 is a narrow gague (3-foot) K-27 class 2-8-2 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1903 and used until 1955 on the Silverton (Southern) Branch of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad (renamed Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1924). Engine 463 is one of only two surviving K-27s.

Gene Autry purchased the locomotive in 1955 after it was retired from service and kept it at his Melody Ranch studio in Placerita Canyon, which he intended to transform into a Western museum. Engine No. 463 was used as a movie prop (as were other retired locomotives, including the Mogul Engine No. 1629, which Autry later gave to the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society) until a 1962 wildfire devastated the property and dashed his plans.

The 463 was a derelict when, in March 1972, Autry "returned" it to the town of Antonito, Colo., for the new Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, which the states of Colorado and New Mexico jointly created in 1970 when they purhcased the line between between Chama, N.M., and Antonito from the old Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad.

The trip home was a comedy of errors, some not so funny. Autry agreed to give the engine and tender to Antonito on condition the town pay the estimated $4,000 shipping cost. Owl Trucking and Construction Co. of Compton donated its services to bring No. 463 and its tender from Melody Ranch to the SPRR Saugus depot (in Saugus) — normally an $8,000 job (The Signal, March 15, 1972.)

Loaded onto a flatcar that was part of a regular Southern Pacific freight train, the engine and tender were sent it to Los Angeles to be weighed, in order to calculate the freight bill. It came in at double the expected amount — $7,980. The tiny town of 1,512 souls couldn't afford it. After some haggling, they were allowed to make payments.

Duly weighed, the first flatcar was found to be too small, and the second was defective. Each move from one flatcar to another was a $1,100 job that involved 10 men, and it didn't go smoothly. Eventally the package was on its way; the SPRR shipped the engine and tender to Ogden, Utah, where they changed tracks (to the Rio Grande tracks) and headed east to Colorado, arriving March 25, 1972.

The town of Antonito handed over the engine and tender to the Cumbres & Toltec to restore. The restoration was complete in 1994, and No. 463 began to transport tourists.

Engine 463 threw a side rod in 2002 and was taken out of service. In 2009, it was moved to the railroad's shop at Chama, where it was rebuilt. It returned to service in Spring 2013. As of 2015 it is the smallest engine on the line.

A tourist line that uses part of the San Joan Extension of the Denver & Rio Grande, the C and TS is still owned and administered jointly by New Mexico and Colorado. It is America's longest and highest narrow-gauge railroad and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is leased to a private operator who is responsible for carrying tourists on scheduled rides and maintaining the rolling stock and the associated rail museum.