On Monday, crews loaded the cosmetically restored cab and tender onto a truck for transportation to Durango, Colorado, where the locomotive will be returned to operational condition. Crews will return to Ogden in a few weeks to retrieve the boiler and other parts of the locomotive.

“One of three surviving C-16 locomotives and the last surviving narrow-gauge Grant-built locomotive, D&RGW C-16 #223 was manufactured in 1881 and served the D&RGW lines in Colorado and New Mexico throughout its working life,” the Standard-Examiner reported back in October. “After being located in Ogden for over 30 years, ownership of the locomotive was officially transferred to Ogden City in February 2024 from the Utah Historical Society. Since then, city staff have been undergoing vigorous analysis as to the future of the locomotive with the goal of determining the best future for this historic engine.”

A press release last October then laid out the next steps.

“Based on united goals to preserve railroading history and honor this engine, Ogden City has completed negotiations with partner organizations. The 223 Locomotive Foundation will take ownership of D&RGW #223 as a purpose-created 501(c)3 non-profit,” the press release said. “They are fundraising for an operational restoration of #223. Once restored, the engine will visit Colorado’s narrow-gauge railroads pulling public excursion trains. Within 10 years of achieving operational status, the D&RGW #223’s permanent home will be at the Colorado Railroad Museum, which hosts operating narrow-gauge tracks in Golden, CO and tours locomotives throughout Colorado.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

For the last 30 years, the Golden Spike Chapter of the National Railway and Locomotive Historical Society had largely taken up to locomotive’s cosmetic restoration. For their efforts, members of the Golden Spike Chapter and Ogden City residents will receive discounted fares on future train rides and will be recognized in a plaque on the locomotive.

On Monday, 223 Locomotive Foundation president Jimmy Booth told the Standard-Examiner about their future plans for the locomotive.

“We’re going to take it down to Durango, Colorado, where they have a shop that’s able to complete the restoration,” he said. “Then we have a 10-year plan to run it in different parts of the country that have three-foot narrow-gauge tracks so that people can see what an old steam engine looks like and appreciate the railroads that built America.”

He said the restoration is expected to take 2-4 years depending on how much work is required.

“The restoration is quite comprehensive,” he said. “Basically, every part of this locomotive needs to be re-machined or re-manufactured. Some parts will have to have new castings made. It’s a process of between two to four years depending on how bad things look when we start tearing it apart and examining everything. We have to do some ultrasound tests on the boiler and look at a few things like the wheels and the axels and how much they need to be machined or if they need to be replaced. Once we make that determination, then we’ll know how long the restoration will take.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

Restorations can be expensive and Booth said the 223 Locomotive Foundation is fundraising to help restore the locomotive. He said around $200,000 of the goal of $1 million-$1.5 million has been raised so far.

Hope Eggett, museum administrator for the Museums at Union Station, told the Standard-Examiner that Monday was a huge day for the museum’s goals to help preserve a piece of the region’s industrial history, even if it will now be out of Union Station’s hands.

“This is a really exciting day for us,” she said. “This is a process that’s been a long time coming in making sure we made the right decision for the future of the 223 and I’m so excited to be sending it on to the next stage of the adventure.”

While Utah no longer has trackage in the correct gauge for No. 223, Booth said there are many places across the country in addition to Colorado that will be able to support the locomotive

“There’s a couple of places in California, there’s a couple of places in Oregon, there’s a fairly good-sized railroad out in Pennsylvania so it can go around to different places,” he said. “There’s a little railroad in Iowa. It just depends on the organizations that want to see it come and how they can work it out. We’ll make sure it happens.”

Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner

He said there’s a lot of excitement within the railroading community about seeing the 223 return to steam in the near future.

“We’ve actually had very good response with it,” he said. “This locomotive is near and dear to a lot of people’s hearts just because it was one of the last running narrow-gauge engines of this class. There’s only three in existence and this is the only one in existence that was built by Grant Locomotive Works, so for people that are into narrow-gauge history, this is a very special and unique piece.”

Booth said that, once the 223 is transferred to the Colorado Railroad Museum, that doesn’t mean its operational days are over.

“It will run there and there will also be the provision that it can be a traveling locomotive too,” he said. “Not only will it be stored there, there will be opportunity for it to go back to the various places for people to see.”

For more on the No. 223, restoration plans and to donate to its restoration, visit https://www.223locomotivefoundation.org/.

Photo supplied, Hope Eggett, Museums at Union Station

Ogden officials and officials from the 223 Locomotive Foundation celebrate the transfer of the Durango & Rio Grande Western No. 223 from the city to the foundation, which was announced on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.

Components of the D&RGW 223 have been loaded and are ready for the trip to Durango, Colorado, for restoration on Monday, June 8, 2026.