Denver & Rio Grande Western No. 315 is a three-foot-gauge 2-8-0 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in July 1895.
The locomotive was not originally a Rio Grande engine. It entered service as Florence & Cripple Creek Railroad No. 3, named Elkton.
It worked in the Cripple Creek mining district until floods and financial problems contributed to the decline of the Florence & Cripple Creek.
Denver & Rio Grande acquired the locomotive in 1917 during the increased transportation demands of World War I.
It initially became D&RG No. 425 and was renumbered No. 315 after the Denver & Rio Grande Western reorganization and system renumbering.
No. 315 worked freight, branch-line, and later yard assignments across southwestern Colorado.
When converted for switching, the locomotive acquired equipment and appearance changes including platforms and a rear light.
After retirement it was preserved in Durango and later altered cosmetically for motion-picture work, including nineteenth-century-style props that did not represent its normal D&RGW service appearance.
The Durango Railroad Historical Society restored 315 to operating condition using extensive historical and mechanical research. The locomotive is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
For TransitSatellite, photographs from its Florence & Cripple Creek, D&RGW, park-display, movie-prop, and restored eras must not be mixed without labels. No. 315’s changing appearance is part of its history.